


Jirachi's Twin

by Christarmewn



Series: Pokémon SwSh: Jirachi's Twin [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Crossover, DressedinPinkShipping, F/M, Fanfic, Fanfiction, Lionheartshipping, Multiple Pairings, Pokemon, Pokemon Fanfiction, Pokemon Sword and Shield - Freeform, Pokemon swsh, Pokémon shield, Pokémon sword, PostwickShipping, bederia, btyu, dnsn, hpyu, pokemon sword and shield fanfiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:14:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 95,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28395219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Christarmewn/pseuds/Christarmewn
Summary: Two years marks the day when Gloria became champion, as well as the year she lost touch with her best friend Hop. In the time that passed, Bede and Marnie stepped up to fill Hop's vacancy while Gloria remained steadfast in her new job. Although, just when life settles for her, Hop suddenly reappears on the scene—determined more than ever to not be undermined by Bede.As they spend time with Gloria, both boys realize their feelings lie beyond friendship, and naturally a competition is reignited between them. However, there are secrets hiding beneath Gloria's surface: an accident from six years ago, a mysterious group called Project: Open Dream, and an ancient tale about the mysterious "shooting star" child, Jirachi's Twin.Hop and Bede will be forced to work side-by-side to uncover the truths without hurting Gloria more than she already is.
Relationships: Beet | Bede & Yuuri | Gloria, Beet | Bede/Mary | Marnie, Beet | Bede/Yuuri | Gloria, Dande | Leon/Sonia, Hau/Yuuri | Gloria, Hop & Lilie | Lillie (Pokemon), Hop & Yuuri | Gloria, Hop/Yuuri | Gloria, Kibana | Raihan/Rurina | Nessa
Series: Pokémon SwSh: Jirachi's Twin [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2079597
Comments: 42
Kudos: 31





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is the prologue to an ongoing series. Expect 38 chapters to be updated regularly every Monday until completion with miscellaneous edits being made along the way. (Also the story ends with a Bede x Gloria scenario, but there's still hpyu content. Also no NSFW or swearing will be included in the entire story.)
> 
> Also if you like the story, follow me on Instagram and Wattpad for Bederia drawings too ❤ (@christarmewn)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gloria wakes up in her new bedroom for the first time since moving to Galar. She meets Hop and his mother, and is forced to introduce herself despite her introverted nature.

(Follow me @christarmewn on Instagram for stuff like this :) )

* * *

A soft, yellow glow illuminated the billowing curtains of Gloria’s new bedroom. She stared at the ceiling, her grey eyes slowly tracing the arrangement of indents and inconsistencies she found in the uneven plaster. She wasn’t used to it—the different location of the sun in the mornings, the pale colors of her bedroom walls, the strange scent of the house… it was an experience, though she had gone through once before, was still unbearable to come to terms with.

She shifted on her mattress, her short hair tickling the back of her neck as she sat up. Tenderly, she combed her hand through her hair, making her heart drop suddenly when she realized something was missing. Her fingers slipped cleanly out after only a second of moving them downwards, and then they hovered in silent resignation centimeters beneath the freshly-trimmed ends. She’d had it cut and dyed before moving to Galar, though it was entirely against her will.

With a melancholy blink, she stood up and carried herself to her dresser. All of her clothing was brand-new, any old possessions left behind in thrift stores for reasons she did not desire to recall. It was her mother’s decision, and though it pained her to do it, Gloria complied.

She changed hastily into a magenta dress and a grey sweatshirt, and placed a green beret on top of her head. She glanced at the selection of clothes indifferently in her mirror, and stepped into the bathroom outside.

“Good morning, Gloria,” her mother acknowledged, nodding. She was putting on mascara, “I see you’re wearing the sweater I picked out for you.”

She shrugged silently and picked up her toothbrush.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Her mother, understanding the cause of Gloria’s demeanor, chose to remain silent out of sympathy. Moving was a hard experience—especially for their particular circumstance.

“We’re going to visit the neighbors down the street today,” she went on, blinking twice before moving her mascara over to her other eye, “They have a kid who’s your age—thirteen, I think. His birthday’s a year before yours. Do you want to come with?”

She shrugged again.

Her mother sighed, her hand faltering for a moment near her left eye, “Come with me, sweetheart. I know everything has been moving at lightspeed these past few days, but this’ll be good for you. Plus, he’s kind of good-looking for his age,” she smiled teasingly down at her daughter, who shifted her gaze quickly to the left in response.

“You know that sort of thing has never mattered to me,” she answered flatly.

Her mom sighed, “I know.”

Gloria, finished brushing, leaned over the sink and spat out her toothpaste. While her head was near the faucet, she filled her mouth with water for a quick drink, and turned to leave the room.

“You know Gloria,” her mother said suddenly, flicking the stick of her mascara across her eyelashes one last time before putting the cap back on, “I believe it’s been long enough, don’t you think?”

Her mother stared at her own eyes in the mirror for a moment, then studied Gloria’s slouched, anxious reflection as she retrieved her glasses from the counter.

“Are you going to enter the Pokémon league again?”

Gloria’s head flicked upwards in surprise.

“What!? The Pokémon league!?”

“Yes,” she went on, opening a drawer to deposit her mascara, “If I recall, you were very interested in the league back in Alola. You even did the island challenge—but you claimed it just wasn’t the same.”

“But…” Gloria shifted uncomfortably, “It’s still too soon. I want to wait until…” her voice trailed off.

Her face fell, her eyes trembling on her mother’s shoulders. She inhaled carefully, the figure of her mother blurring as she blinked frantically. Then, shifting her gaze to the floor, Gloria turned on her heel and stopped momentarily in the doorway.

“I’ll think about it.”

* * *

In the minutes that passed before she and her mother were to visit their neighbors, Gloria spent a great deal of time pondering her mom’s words. Years ago, when she lived in Unova, it was Gloria’s own personal dream to enter the Pokémon league. She’d always been talented with Pokémon—often playing with wild ones in her backyard. Before she was old enough to enter the league, however, her family moved to Alola for reasons beyond their control.

She ended up participating in the Island Challenge instead—a memory that, for personal reasons, she chose not to recall.

 _It’s too soon to start battling again._ she decided, _Especially after everything that’s happened._

With a heavy sigh, Gloria stepped across her bedroom and opened the top drawer of her dresser. Inside, she withdrew a small photograph of her family. She was young—around six years old, standing in-between her mother and father. The picture had been torn in half, separating only her father from their family, but Gloria had taped the image back together without her mother’s knowledge.

As she stared at it, she flipped the image over to reveal the cursive, Latin words: “Vivite somnium.” Her father’s last message before disappearing forever from their lives.

In the hallway, her mother’s voice suddenly appeared: “I’m leaving now, sweetheart. Have you decided? Coming or staying?”

“Coming,” she responded quickly, tossing the image into the drawer before her mother saw it.

She knelt down next to her mirror and slipped on a pair of hardy, brown boots. They weren’t the sort of thing she would normally wear. Gloria’s style had previously consisted of cute pastels, but to remain inconspicuous, she was forced to comply with her mother’s clothing choices for a little while… at least until the news of them moving in settled down.

Her shoes tied neatly, Gloria followed her mother out the door. Her nose was met with the stinging sent of dried hay and rolling pastures of grass—a deep contrast to the previous locations she’d lived in. Her feet crunched on the dirt pathway beneath her, unsettling her ears with the harsh sound of her footsteps. To keep quiet, she chose to flatten her footsteps rather than endure the continuous rhythm of crunching.

Her mother noticed, but said nothing.

When they reached the front door of the neighbor’s house, they were greeted by a sweet woman who looked to be in her early forties. A smile lit up her face as she greeted Gloria’s mother.

“Ah, Miss Verity!” the woman exclaimed joyously, her Galarian accent hitting Gloria as strange for a moment, “You’re a little early—Hop’s just finishing his homework, you can meet him downstairs in a minute,” she said, glancing kindly to Gloria as she brought up Hop’s name.

Gloria shied awkwardly behind her mom a tiny bit—not nervous, merely reluctant to interact so soon in the day. Within seconds, the adults were conversing lively in the living room. Her mother, well-rehearsed with fake tales about where they’d moved from, had no trouble at all complying with the sweet woman’s questions.

Unoccupied, her eyes drifted to the family pictures on the lady’s walls. She saw photographs of their family, all of them consisting of the same four people, for the most part. There was a middle-aged man, who appeared the least in the pictures—probably because he was the one taking them, the woman currently chatting in the living room, and two boys.

The older boy appeared to be a young adult—possibly in his twenty’s. In some of the recent ones, he had stubble on his chin, and frequently wore a black cap that sported an interesting emblem. The youngest—likely the boy who was named Hop, was youthful and silly. She didn’t consider him attractive as her mom had so obnoxiously teased, but she liked the bold contrast of his yellow eyes to his dark hair and skin.

 _I can already tell he’s the over-the-top, “childhood friend” type,_ she mused thoughtfully.

A minute into Gloria’s brief observation of the family photos, she turned her head as a steady thumping suddenly shot down the stairs. At the curve of the stairwell, Gloria’s eyes landed on the young boy’s face, recognizing him from both her mother’s vague description, and the pictures that dotted the walls.

“Oh—you’re already here!” Hop blinked, surprised, “Sorry if I’m late—I almost forgot you two were coming,” he chuckled, a little embarrassed.

“It’s alright,” Gloria responded, stepping away from the family pictures and shrinking her posture. She shifted her hands in front of her and gave a tiny bow—as if _she_ was apologizing, for whatever reason.

Hop stepped down the stairs, turning to face Gloria. He smiled, but couldn’t come up with anything to say, so he simply bowed as she had done, and joined his mum on her left. Gloria did the same, keeping a few yard’s distance so he didn’t mistakenly think she was following him.

As the adults chatted, Hop and Gloria remained silent for a moment, and she began to wonder why he’d even bothered to come downstairs in the first place.

Finally, after one last minute of awkwardly shifting and glancing at their parents, Hop spoke.

“Uh… hey,” he began casually, “you’re the new neighbor, right?”

Gloria flinched, surprised to hear his sudden voice.

He continued, undaunted by her reflex, “I’m Hop!” he grinned, pointing a thumb to himself, “You might also recognize me as the champion’s younger brother.” he added cheaply, as if hoping to get a surprised reaction out of her.

Gloria shifted her eyes and shrugged. Pokémon wasn’t something she watched anymore, so naturally she wasn’t familiar with the champion’s face.

“It’s fine if you don’t though…” he mumbled, suddenly disappointed. Hop cleared his throat, returning some of his lost confidence, “Anyway, what’s your name mate?”

Gloria blinked, suddenly realizing the moment had come to introduce herself. She stuttered for a moment, her eyes racing to the left and right as she clenched her hands together.

_My name?_

It was on the tip of her tongue—so natural to speak, yet somehow so terrifying. A thought came to her—a worry that this thirteen year-old standing before her, could somehow recognize her if she didn’t lie instead.

_What if he knows?_

Just as she was about to utter it, a twinge in her mind resurfaced a series of old memories. For a terrible two seconds, Gloria was drowning in the truth of her past. The thought of her own name suddenly conjured image after image—white tables and restraints, terrified, angry people screeching as she crossed the streets, a set of six Poké Balls long-since gone, and of course she remembered the picture in her desk drawer. The only item she deeply cherished, even though it haunted her. “Vivite somnium.” Live your dream.

When those two seconds passed, she looked back at Hop’s face with a rejuvenated smile. The smile surprised him for a moment. It was only a second ago when Gloria’s face was pale and bloodless with fear, but yet suddenly she was smiling. Finally, she answered his question.

“G-Gloria!” she managed, the relief of finally speaking her name somehow calming her, “Gloria Verity!”

The words exhausted her, yet there was a warmth in them that tore away the dead apathy behind her eyes, and replaced it with a liveliness she hadn’t felt in many years.

Hop grinned, “Cool! Gloria it is then!” then he laughed and shook her hand, “Nice Unovian accent you’ve got by the way! Is that where you’re from?”

She stiffened, realizing her voice could be a dead giveaway if she wasn’t careful, “More or less.”

Gloria smiled contently to herself, finally putting her squirming thoughts to rest.

 _That’s right_ , she concluded, _Of course he doesn’t know me—who would know about that anyway? I’m starting a brand new life here in Galar, so I’m going to make the best of it. From this day forth, I’ll live the life I never had, and be the person I never got to be._

_This time I promise—I won’t disappoint them ever again._


	2. Memory One - The 20XX League Championship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story begins at the end of Gloria's third Pokémon league, two years after she became the champion. After defeating Marnie, she, Marnie, and Bede make plans for a post-league dinner celebration. Hop and Sonia also choose to attend the match, and Hop realizes how many years it's been since he last spoke to her.

“You cheeky—” she stammered.

The Gigantamaxed Grimmsnarl screamed as it shrank down to its original height of 5 feet, and a resounding thud as it hit the ground signaled that the 20XX Galar Pokémon League was over.

The stadium roared as the nation’s anthem played boisterously over the loudspeakers, and both trainers let out exhausted, but exhilarated sighs.

Marnie smirked and strode towards the Champion to give her a proper handshake, “Wicked of you, using a fairy type to decimate my Grimmsnarl,” Marnie shook her head, “Suppose I’ll have to get m’self a better strategy for that OP Alcremie of yours.”

The Champion laughed nervously as she returned her Pokémon, “Sorry, sorry! I get a bit carried away in these kind of matches.”

The two shook hands, and the stadium cheered as chairman Leon ran to the center of the field to greet the two finalists.

“Thank you!” his voice boomed into the mic, “I’m sure you’re all still amped up by today’s excellent match, but now that it’s over, I’m happy to announce that our current champion (and my rival-to-beat), has once again dominated the field. Give it up for our first-placer, Champion Gloria!”

The crowd screamed joyously, chanting their champion’s name in glorious song.

“And not to forget our charming second-placer from Spikemuth, give it up for our dark type gym leader, Marnie!”

In a similar response, the crowd exploded a second time as Marnie waved kindly towards the crowd.

“Thank you, thank you everyone here in the stadium, and at home watching, for witnessing this excellent championship!” the crowd quieted a bit, “Now, as per tradition, any words of advice for next year’s gym challengers? Tips, strategies—what to expect?”

He reached the microphone towards Gloria.

“Yes! A few things,” Gloria cleared her throat and accepted Leon’s mic with a sugar-sweet smile, “I just want to start off by saying that this year was absolutely amazing! Everyone worked so hard to be here, and even though I’m still the current champion, I want everyone to know that no one is undefeatable,” she winked at Leon, who shook his head in playful response, “As long as you train hard, and love your Pokémon like they’re your family, you can accomplish all of your dreams—no matter how absurd! Not once did I ever predict that I’d become the champion, yet here I am! And with a perfect two-year track record, too.

However! I am not undefeatable. I believe, unlike our previous champion, that if you tell gym challengers they likely won’t ever defeat the greatest-of-the-greats, then they (unsurprisingly), never will. It is my hope—no… it is my passion! That all trainers can get a chance to fight me, and who knows? Maybe one of you can become the next champion! So thank you—really! I look forward to next year, and all the future years to come. Thank you everyone!”

The crowd roared once again, and Leon closed the tournament with his final regards before the band called the Maximizers burst forth into song. As soon as they started playing, the stadium started to empty out, and the loudspeakers brought forth their array announcements regarding autographs, future exhibitions, and tomorrow’s festival that was going to be held the next night at Wyndon stadium once again.

Leon smirked and whirled around to flick the Champion’s forehead, “Cocky little runt you are! Having the nerve to berate me like that!”

“Ow!” Gloria laughed, “Sorry mister ‘Undefeatable Champion’—I had to clean up parts of the mess you made, regarding the gym challengers!”

Leon laughed wholeheartedly and waved to Gloria as he joined his manager in the sidelines. Gloria on the other hand, turned to face Marnie who was standing behind her about a meter away.

She was pouting of course, arms crossed and her eyebrows cutely furrowed together, “Oi! For being so ‘undefeatable’, you sure ain’t humble. Heck tha’ whole speech ‘o yours is just askin’ for a butt-kicking, innit? By tomorrow you’ll have a whole flock ‘o ten year-olds lined up to whoop ‘ya.”

Gloria smiled, “Then I guess I’ll have to train even harder!”

Marnie rolled her eyes, but Gloria could tell she was just teasing. Among the crowd of gym leaders and challengers that had just flooded the field, there was one figure that was catching up to them in a somewhat lopsided sprint.

“Oh hi Bede. Nice to see you’re not crying afta’ I dominated our match.”

“Shut-up,” he glowered at Marnie, gasping for air after running the length of the stadium.

“In all honesty though,” Gloria interrupted, breaking the tension, “your match was totally on fire! Seriously!”

“Sure it was…” he sighed bitterly, placing his hand on his forehead somewhat dramatically.

Gloria’s smile lessened a tiny bit as the excitement from today’s league started to die down.

“Say. This feels quite nostalgic, eh? I feel like it was just yesterday when I was fighting both of you here two years ago.”

“Weird how time flies, huh?” Bede commented, his face still a bit red from sprinting.

There was a comfortable pause as the three watched everyone file out of the stadium.

“Well,” Marnie spoke suddenly, “I’m a bit bored of tha’ nostalgia now. Anyone up for dinna’?”

Gloria beamed again, “Sure! Dinner sounds nice. Heck there’s a real fancy place I can book down the street, if that’s what you guys are up for.”

“ _You’re_ going to book it?” Bede uttered, a little shocked, “That place ain’t cheap. I’d feel like garbage if I made you pay for all of that.”

Marnie nudged him, “Have you forgotten? Gloria is LOADED ‘a this point. No reason to go and start feeling guilty _now_. Heck I’d be more concerned about fixin’ tha’ sharp tongue ‘o yours.”

“You’re one to talk you cheeky—”

“EEEH,” Gloria groaned melodramatically as she placed her hands on their shoulders, “Chill out you two! Gosh—I don’t mind paying. Though personally I think you, Marnie, should be a bit more careful about your wording. I won’t always be around to buy you free food.”

Bede half-hid his smirk as Marnie pouted again—this time turning her head childishly for added emphasis.

“Anyway,” Gloria smiled once again with added sweetness, “Since we’ve got the whole gang, we might as well have some fun—FREE of argument, please.”

“I—” Bede raised his finger in protest, but was interrupted by Marnie.

“Yeah—let’s go! I’m always up for a free dinna’.”

Marnie and Gloria began walking towards the exit, leaving Bede standing there incredulously.

“Hey! I never said I wasn’t coming!” he exclaimed, running once again to catch up with Marnie and Gloria.

* * *

On the recliner, Sonia was dozing off while the league championships were playing quietly in the background. Hop was sitting at her desk, filling out paperwork regarding their Alcremie research, when he noticed she was falling asleep.

Hop huffed, “Honestly, woman. I keep tellin’ ya you’re overworking yourself, and now you take this chance to nap…”

He stood up and turned off the television, assuming she wasn’t watching it anymore, but in fact, he woke her up with a start.

“Hey!” she gave him a bewildered glance as he started to leave, “I was watching that you know!”

“You were asleep!” Hop put his hands up in denial, “I’m not watching it either, so I just turned it off.”

“Eh?” Sonia complained, sleepily, “Why aren’t you interested in watching? I’m not working at all—why should you?”

“Am I seriously the only responsible person who works here…?”

Sonia pouted, “You dodged the question, Hop. I remember you used to _always_ turn on the telly when the league championships were on. Since you started workin’ here though, you’ve seemed to have lost interest completely.”

She paused while Hop just shook his head and sat down to fill out more papers.

“I wonder,” she started up again, “have you been tryin’ to avoid Gloria all these years?”

Behind her, Sonia could hear Hop drop his pen onto the floor, “Wha—of course not!” he spun around to face her, “Any quarrel I had with her was two years ago. I’m over it by now…”

Sonia twisted her mouth to the side doubtfully.

“That so.”

She turned on the television again, and Hop let out a scoff.

“See! That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” she pointed at him accusingly.

“Sonia!” Hop’s face reddened in frustration and embarrassment as he lost his composure. He coughed into his fist and started again calmly, “It’s not that I don’t _want_ to watch it… I just have other priorities. And frankly… (I can’t believe I’m saying this to the professor…) you shouldn’t be wasting time like this either—” he stopped.

Sonia was holding up two tickets with a massive grin on her face.

“What’s that…?” Hop’s expression fell into one of dread.

“The finals are starting in about two hours! I think if we go now we can still catch Gloria’s match, don’t you?”

“Wha—Sonia! That’s ridiculous! We’re supposed to be studying Alcremie, not watching sports!”

“Gloria _has_ an Alcremie. Besides! This’ll be a great opportunity to observe more Dynamax Pokémon!”

Hop leaned back and put his palm on his forehead, “Sonia… you’re insane…”

“Am I?” she pouted, “Anyway, I already called a taxi. He’s outside waiting for us. I already paid him too, so…”

“Well…” Hop hesitated. He really wasn’t in the mood to go, but something about Sonia’s excitement was changing his mind. “I mean… if you already got tickets and everything…”

“Yes!” Sonia pumped her fist triumphantly, “Alright let’s go before my mum finds out and scolds me.”

“Right… I hope I’m still getting paid for this,” Hop muttered out of earshot; but secretly, he was smiling.

* * *

Hop sat down just as the finals were about to start. Leon was speaking to all the gym leaders behind the scenes before he had to come out and announce the pairings. Everyone was leaking in from the intermission, and the bracket was being displayed on the wide-screen television hovering above the stadium.

“Looks like we made it just in time!” Sonia exclaimed happily.

“Yeah…” Hop hesitated, “Wow… it’s actually been a long time since I’ve seen a Pokémon battle.”

Sonia smiled sympathetically at him, “Has it…?”

The two sat quietly while the rest of the stadium buzzed with excitement.

Hop, surprisingly, was the first one to start speaking again, “I can hardly believe it’s been two years since my gym challenge. It feels like it was just yesterday when I was out catching Pokémon and battling gym leaders.”

“Really takes you back, huh?” she smiled.

After another few minutes passed, Leon strode out onto the field, giving his praises and rallying up the crowd. The hosts above, on the other hand, announced the bracket (with added special effects played on the TV) and eventually hushed just in time for Leon to say: “May the best trainer win!” before disappearing into the sidelines.

The bracket went as follows: In the first round, Marnie vs Milo, Bede vs Raihan, Nessa vs Kabu, and the semifinalist challenger vs Gordie.

The battles were absolutely insane. At first Hop had trouble getting into it, since he wasn’t particularly fond of Bede—especially after he beat Raihan (which took everyone by surprise). However, when he watched the fight between Gordie and the gym challenger, he felt a wave of nostalgia that brought him to his feet cheering when the challenger Dynamaxed.

“You’re really getting into this aren’t you?” Sonia laughed.

Hop smiled, “I guess I can’t help it. I still somehow love Pokémon battles—even after all this time!”

When round two came, he had an entirely different experience. The battle between Bede and Marnie was intense, but Hop burst into laughter when Bede somehow lost to Marnie’s Pokémon.

“There’s no way!” Hop clenched the edge of his seat, flabbergasted. “Bede has the entire upper hand, yet that Toxicroak totally held its ground!”

“Just goes to show you that type advantages aren’t always a guarantee.” Sonia chuckled.

It was a rather humiliating defeat for the gym challenger too, unfortunately. The challenger did an excellent job preparing for Gordie it seemed, but Nessa seemed to have all the types that the poor trainer was weak against.

“Poor kid…” Hop sat down sympathetically. “Reminds me of when I got beat up by Gloria,” Sonia glanced at him, half-concerned, but when Hop noticed her staring at him, he smiled again—somewhat sheepishly.

The final fight before the Champion was quite the battle. Both teams were well matched, having weaknesses and strengths, but when it came down to it, Marnie was just a little bit higher level-wise than Nessa.

Hop stared in surprise as Marnie finished her last match. “Golly,” he muttered, “I sure don’t remember her being so powerful.”

“Yeah. She’s got quite a bit of power, doesn’t she?” Sonia nodded in agreement.

Then Leon sprinted once again to the center of the field, mic in hand. He gave his usual greeting, and spiritedly introduced the last two challengers of the evening.

“I welcome—” he began, “MARNIE! Our lovely dark type gym leader from Spikemuth, and of course…”

There was a dramatic pause as Gloria strode out onto the field. The stadium lights blared into a single spotlight and Gloria smiled and shaped her hands into a heart. The crowd went wild with excitement and the music above blared even louder than before.

“PLEASE WELCOME BACK OUR CHAMPION, GLORIA FROM POSTWICK!”

Hop stood up in awe. Next to him, Sonia was screaming Gloria’s name, shouting words of good luck to both her, and Marnie. Hop watched as his old friend took the mic, and with a voice familiarly sweet, she uttered:

“Thank you,” the crowd went silent in an instant, “This league has been wonderful. I’d hate for it to end here, but as strong as you are Marnie, this is the end of the line.”

She smiled with an air of sassiness this time, and Marnie returned it with a competitive, yet somehow still girly, leer.

Hop didn’t speak. He sat down with his hand clenched in a fist in front of his face—apprehensive, yet excited. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t fighting Gloria. Just watching her tear apart a challenger was enough to chill him to the bone.

Then he smirked, “Gloria can smile all she wants, but I can tell she’s out for blood tonight.”

“You can, eh?” Sonia nudged him.

Hop glanced at her, and nodded, “There’s always somethin’ scary about her eyes when she’s about to fight. Like she’s reading you like a book before you even let out your first Pokémon.”

When the bell went off, the battle rushed forth in a hasty blur. Gloria led with Orbeetle, Marnie with her Liepard.

“Not wasting any time ‘n this match, are ya’?” Marnie mused, noticing Gloria’s type advantage.

Gloria blinked sinisterly, her lips sparkling as they twisted into a greedy smile.

Upon the first demand, Orbeetle floated a foot forward and began to vibrate its powerful wings. The vibrations sent a high-pitched screech across the field of the stadium, and crashed a powerful shockwave against Liepard’s hunched back. It recoiled, struggling to approach the Pokémon, but found no success. With a single attack, Liepard fell to its knees.

“Holy crap…” Hop mouthed, “I remember her Bug Buzz was decent at best—but sheesh it took that thing right out in one hit…”

Marnie’s frustrated face mimicked the thoughts Hop had just uttered as she pulled out her next Pokémon.

“Tha’ bug typing is going t’ be nasty—I’ll have to risk this. Morpeko! C’mout and tear this thing down!”

The Morpeko leapt out of its Poké Ball instantly, landing gracefully on the ground after doing a single backflip. Taking advantage of its temporary type difference, Morpeko curled into a ball and slammed full-force into Gloria’s Orbeetle. Electricity shot up from where the impact took place, and Orbeetle staggered backwards in surprise.

Both girls determined to succeed, they fought back and forth with all of the burning excitement they had in their bodies. It was a long match—Orbeetle finally getting defeated by Morpeko after about five minutes of vicious clawing and scratching. When Orbeetle was down, Gloria revealed her next Pokémon—a small, easily overlooked Togedemaru nicknamed “Tac” for short.

The Togedemaru defeated Morpeko, its ability Lightning Rod playing a significant role in keeping away electric attacks. Ten more minutes of fighting passed, Marnie losing her Scrafty to Gloria’s Inteleon, then Gloria losing Inteleon to Toxicroak—after forgetting about its ability Dry Skin.

“Uhm…” Marnie glanced at Gloria as the Inteleon’s Hydro Pump splashed pathetically against Toxicroak’s body.

“Crap!” Gloria jumped backwards and tugged at the edge of her hat, “I forgot you’ve got Dry Skin—don’t you!? Dang I should’ve pulled out Ember!”

Marnie rolled her eyes and ordered Toxicroak to unleash Earthquake. The move ravaged her Inteleon’s sides, causing it to crumple to its knees in exhaustion. It glanced back at its trainer in annoyance.

“Make up ya’ mind.” Marnie sighed.

Gloria shook her head, “I’m sorry, Bobble.” she sighed at her Inteleon, “It’s too late now. Let’s settle for a stat lowering okay? Use Breaking Swipe.”

Frustrated at its underutilization, Inteleon slammed its tail into the Toxicroak’s body, forcing its special attack stat down. One Earthquake later, and Inteleon was already too weak to continue.

“You lost that on purpose…” Marnie grunted, believing full well Gloria had messed up out of guilt for being so strong.

“I-I didn’t! I just—” Gloria stuttered bewilderedly.

“Nevermind… pick ya’ next Pokémon.”

“Right…” Gloria coughed, and pulled out her Ninetales named Ember.

Using Ember’s speed, Gloria was able to pull off a quick Fire Blast, finally knocking down Marnie’s Toxicroak.

“Alright then.”

Marnie smiled at the crowd who was starting to scream “Gigantamax!” over the sound of the music. She pulled out her Grimmsnarl, and prepared it for G-maxing. She reared back her arm, let the Poké Ball enlarge, and then proceeded to toss it a fair distance behind her. The Pokémon roared as it grew, and the stadium exploded with excited cheering.

In the meantime, Gloria prepared a second fire blast, but to her dismay, the attack missed—flying off to the left accidentally, just short of Grimmsnarl’s leg. Grimmsnarl, as a result, attacked Ember with a powerful G-max Snooze. The attack slammed down onto her Pokémon with such immense force, it took it out in a single hit—just as Gloria’s Bug Buzz attack had done to Marnie’s Liepard. Gloria let out a calm sigh, considering which of her last two Pokémon she should use.

After a moment, she nodded towards one of her Poké Balls. She kissed the top of it lightly, whispering sweetly to it words of good luck. Then, she flicked her right arm to her side, and activated the Gigantamax option on her bracelet. The Poké Ball grew triple its size, and with a hefty underhanded toss, Gloria unleashed her most powerful Pokémon.

A ginormous cake splatted onto the battlefield, piercing the audiences ears with a massive screech as it turned its adorable head towards the sky. It was her beloved signature member, Alcremie—nicknamed Guii, so not to be mixed up with gym leader Opal’s Pokémon.

Marnie shook her head and muttered quietly, “And this is where I lose to you, mate.”

Gloria pointed forward, not even bothering to utter the command to attack. With an understanding nod, Alcremie unleashed a powerful cry, and a shower of stars streamed down from the dark sky overhead. The lights twinkled in Gloria’s eyes as they slammed full force into the Grimmsnarl, and it screamed as light streaked violently across its flesh. The Pokémon sank down into the grass, the G-max energy disappearing completely as it closed its eyes in defeat.

“Dang.” Hop stared quietly at his old friend.

Everyone around had burst into cheering—screaming Gloria’s name at the tops of their lungs, their fists raised in celebration. The scenery sent Hop into a brief moment of nostalgia, and for a few seconds—maybe even minutes, he felt the whole world tune out as his eyes rested unmoving on the silhouette of the Champion.

Two years ago it was him standing there, head bowed in defeat, and a forced smile on his face. The crowd had been cheering her name then, too. When the lights dimmed and the intermission started, he remembered how his feet carried him towards locker room robotically. He smiled and shook hands with the gym challengers and gym leaders, he even gave Gloria a hi-five before she went into her respective changing room.

Hop could see himself open the door to the locker room, then suddenly felt the dead silence meet him when the door slammed shut. He stood there for a moment, relishing in the quiet stillness, before he sat down on a bench and started to change. He remembered how when he took off his shirt, he felt something wet smear across his face; and how when he’d stopped to investigate the source, he noticed the cold wetness of salt droplets rolling down his cheeks.

He remembered sitting there, bewildered as his eyes betrayed him those few seconds he sat. Crawling up from the pits of his stomach, a gushing, pushing feeling of darkness constricted his throat. Then, furious as he practically punched away his own tears, Hop threw on the rest of his clothes and marched out of the locker room in a storm—his fists clenched, and his jaw so tight it hurt. He broke off into a quick-paced walk, avoiding the glazes of onlookers, but glaring at those he happened to share glances with.

And then those feelings came back to him in the present moment. The cheering drilled into his head and pierced through his skin, filling his soul once again with bitterness as he sat back down in a dark, gut twisting silence.

Sonia looked over at Hop, noticing that he had suddenly stopped cheering, “Hop?” she stepped down a bleacher to sit directly next to him, “Are you alright? You look pale—”

Hop, startled, looked up at Sonia and remembered at once that he was a spectator and not a challenger.

“Ah… I’m fine! Sorry…” he scratched his neck and returned his smile back to his face, “I got a little lost in the nostalgia of it all.”

Sonia paused, “Were you remembering your loss from two years ago?”

He grimaced, “Uh… something like that,” Hop shook his head and clenched his hands together to distract his mind.

“I see…” Sonia looked back at the field to watch Leon give his speech.

The crowd quieted again as Hop willed himself to watch his friend receive another first place trophy.

He sighed, letting out some of his negativity, “Yeah,” he laughed, “this is kind of why I don’t like watching the leagues anymore. Stirs up some unpleasant memories.”

There was an empty pause.

“I’m good now though,” he went on, “In fact, I reckon this whole experience was kind of good for me. After all, I’ve been needing to let go of all this properly. It’s all just been sort of floatin’ around in my head.”

Sonia smiled, “That’s good to hear, Hop. I’m glad you came.”

Hop paused for a moment, and looked at Gloria. He could tell she was so happy—and for that, he felt happy too. It was just that there was a cold part of him which, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t let go of the pain of abandoning his childhood dream.

“Me too,” he finished, as the championship finally concluded that evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To read exactly what happened between Hop and Gloria two years ago, read "Jirachi's Twin Bonus Stories, Consider a Friend". It also elaborates on the start of Gloria and Bede's friendship.


	3. Memory Two - A Wickedly Expensive Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Feeling like he's been completely replaced, Hop runs away from Gloria and her friends rather than join them. Meanwhile, not noticing Hop's appearance, Gloria, Bede, and Marnie have dinner together, and Marnie manages to squeeze a secret out of Bede that he's been hiding for over a year now.

After sitting silently for some time, Hop suddenly stood. His eyes landed on the field of the stadium, a sudden, burning urgency flitting across his gaze.

“Hop?” Sonia asked, her eyes following him as he started to step over the bleachers.

“Just a second—I’ll be back in a minute!” he called back, pushing his way through the crowded seats until he’d reached the edge.

“What!? We have to catch a flight home before they’re all booked!” Sonia yelled after him.

Hop ignored her and jumped the fence to land on the field where his brother and all of the gym leaders were waiting around, talking.

Sonia rolled her eyes and smiled, “That boy never changes,” she sighed and started packing up her things before noticing Hop left his research journal on the bleachers, “Ah! Oh no… Hop—”

But Hop had already made his way across the field towards Gloria, who was chatting with Bede and Marnie.

As he neared Gloria, he could start to make out some of their conversation. 

Bede seemed to be out of breath as he angrily muttered, “Shut-up.”

“In all honesty though,” Gloria interjected, “your match was totally on fire! Seriously!”

“Sure it was…” Bede sighed bitterly, and placed his hand on his forehead.

Hop stopped advancing towards the group once he recognized Bede was there.

“What…?” Hop uttered, bewildered, “Since when has Gloria been friends with…”

“Say,” Gloria chimed, “This feels quite nostalgic, eh? I feel like it was just yesterday when I was fighting both of you here two years ago.”

Hop stood there, listening quietly from the cover of the crowd.

“Weird how time flies, huh?” Bede commented.

There was a pause. In that moment, a growing discomfort spread through Hop’s body, as he started to realize how terribly long it had been since he had last visited with Gloria.

 _It’s been so long—I wonder if Bede and Marnie would even be able to remember me. I was just another challenger, after all…_ Hop thought, stiffening a bit.

“Well,” Marnie spoke suddenly, “I’m a bit bored of tha’ nostalgia now. Anyone up for dinna’?”

Gloria beamed, “Sure! Dinner sounds nice. Heck there’s a real fancy place I can book down the street, if that’s what you guys are up for.”

Hop looked up. Dinner would be a perfect opportunity to catch up. Surely, if he just conquered his burning hesitance, he could finally make amends with Gloria and return their friendship to the height it was at years ago.

Hop rolled back his shoulders, pushed his discomfort aside, and started to reach towards them.

“Hey—” he began.

“Anyway,” Gloria smiled, not hearing his voice over the crowd, “Since we’ve got the whole gang, we might as well have some fun—FREE of argument, please.”

Hop stopped. Gloria’s words pierced through his chest. “The whole gang” did not include himself, he realized, and took a wary step back.

They continued to argue.

“I—” Bede raised his finger in protest, but was interrupted by Marnie.

“Yeah—let’s go! I’m always up for a free dinna’.”

They started to walk towards the exit together, still bickering and laughing about something Hop no longer cared to process. His mind was too fixated on Gloria’s previous statement to think straight.

Hop stood there quietly, his eyes hovering painfully on the strands of Gloria’s long brown hair as she slowly fell away from his view. Without a word, he turned on his heel and stormed off bitterly in the opposite direction. A confused rage constricted his insides as the echo of their conversation rang through his ears.

 _Of course,_ he spat internally, _What did I expect? It’s been two years. They’ve probably been having a ball without me—didn’t even think to call me, did she?_

Back in the bleachers, Sonia’s eyes had finally found Hop again, just as he’d turned to stomp away.

“That’s strange… I thought he wanted to talk to her?” she muttered, watching him disappear into the sidelines. Then she remembered why she was pursuing him in the first place, “Oh—wait a second, Hop!”

Sonia fled down the stairs and entered an archway into the stadium, pushing past the lingering citizens that lined the halls.

“Excuse me—sorry! Can’t talk right now, looking for someone…”

She finally got to the exit and scanned the main entrance to see if Hop was there, but he had somehow disappeared among the flow of people.

Aghast, she placed her palm on her forehead, “Where the dickens did he go?”

* * *

Gloria, Bede, and Marnie chatted lively as they walked down the road to the fancy restaurant. The massive diner towered in front of them, its exquisiteness shining proudly in the setting sun.

“This is the place!” Gloria smiled happily up at it and threw out her arms to emphasize its great size.

“Geez it’s so massive,” Bede commented.

“Looks great!” Marnie smiled back at Gloria, and gestured towards the front door.

Bede strode ahead of the other two to hold the door open before walking in himself, and then they approached a counter across the room where a woman was assigning tables. They looked around as they walked in, and noticed many onlookers were excitedly pointing and whispering.

Bede smirked, “I feel like a celebrity standing next to you, Gloria.”

“That’s cuz’ you are one, dingus,” she answered cheekily, and nudged him in the arm.

A bit flustered, he responded with an, “Oh—right…” before resuming to walk in silence.

“Hello! How may I help you three?” the woman asked kindly.

“Hi! I’d like a table for three in the VIP lounge, please.”

Bede whipped his head towards her, “V-VIP? That’s extremely expens—”

Marnie stomped on his foot and he yelped before falling silent again.

“Sure thing!” she smiled, “For three guests, the price will be around ₽30,000 for seating, is that alright?”

“Cheaper than buying Poké Balls,” she shrugged.

Bede glanced at her with a horrified expression on his face, “H-how much do you spend on Poké Balls…?”

She just smiled at him.

“Lorraine!” the woman interrupted, and a young waitress appeared on command, “Please escort these three to the VIP lounge, please.”

The waitress named Lorraine nodded, “Follow me.”

Bede, Marnie, and Gloria followed the waitress into the lounge, and she sat them down at a gorgeously ornate dining table with luxuriously soft chairs furnished all around it. The silverware was just as ornate, the spoons adorning hand-carved Rayquazas which swirled along the handles, and the forks, knives, and other eating utensils carried similar matching patterns. Each plate had its own unique design, fitting the theme of the utensils. The theme appeared to sport the designs of the three legendaries: Rayquaza, Groudon, and Kyogre. The middle of the table also had a bowl of rolls in it that looked so perfect, they might as well have been fakes.

“This is gorgeous!” Marnie noted, holding up a utensil.

“I could’ve helped pay for it…” Bede sighed, “This dinner is wicked expensive.”

“Bede, if you keep saying that, I’m going to make you pay for _all_ of it.”

He shut-up after that.

After getting situated, the three were handed menus from Lorraine.

“Let me know when you’re ready to order.” Lorraine said automatically, before exiting to aid another table.

As soon as the waitress left, Marnie pumped her fists and grinned excitedly, “Aaaah! A’ can’t believe m’ doin’ this right now and I’m only twenty-two!”

“You’re twenty two…?” Bede spun to look at her, shocked.

“Yeah,” she answered, “who wants ta’ know?”

He glowered at her response before muttering, “I can’t believe you’re older than me…”

“At least ya’ older than Gloria. She’s a baby in comparison,” Marnie teased.

“What!? No I’m not! I’m nineteen—I’m an adult…” Gloria defended.

Bede sighed, and smiled secretly to himself, “That’s true…”

Marnie glanced at him before looking down at her menu. They all paused for a brief moment to see what was available, and for a few seconds they could clearly hear the live musicians playing classical music in the background.

Gloria stood up, “I know what I want. Wait here while I use the bathroom.”

She strode off across the room and turned left down a hallway. Bede and Marnie watched until she was out of sight before looking back down at their menus.

Marnie put hers down abruptly, “I know what a’ want too.”

“Really?” he raised an eyebrow, “You two are fast… there’s so many choices.”

“I’m just gettin’ whateva’ Gloria’s gettin’.” Marnie answered simply, “As nice as this place is, a’ don’t trust m’self with picking the food. Gloria has more experience with these sort a’ things.”

“That so…” Bede looked back at his menu.

There was an awkward pause between the two of them.

“So…” Bede began, but couldn’t come up with any conversation topics. He and Marnie were so polar opposite he found it hard to talk to her.

“What?” Marnie placed her hand on her chin impatiently.

“Nevermind…”

She sighed, “Fine. Then let me ask ya’ somethin’.” she straightened up, and then suddenly smacked her hand down on Bede’s menu so that it was flat against the table.

Shocked by her sudden hostility, he caught her intense gaze before stammering, “What is it…?”

“Yanno you’re really comfortable with Gloria,” she commented, leaning back into her chair and away from Bede, “What’s your opinion of her?”

“My opinion…?” he knitted his eyebrows in annoyance and embarrassment, “She’s nice? I’m not sure I understand—”

“You know exactly what m’ talkin’ about, fairy boy. Do you like her? How long?”

“Hold on a second—that’s not—I don’t—” he coughed into his fist, trying to ignore the fact that his face had reddened an obvious amount, “It’s not like that…” he managed.

“Suuure,” she smirked at him obnoxiously.

There was a moment of hesitation before Bede placed his hand on his face and muttered, “Is it that obvious…?”

“Not really,” she answered lightly, “I was just tryin’ to make you uncomfortable for kicks, but after that reaction I realized I’d accidentally found gold.”

“Seriously!?” he pulled back in disgust, “That’s a low blow!”

Marnie laughed sinisterly, “Now tha’ I know the truth though, you’ve got to tell me more.”

He glared at her, “Who says I have to?”

Marnie smiled, cupped her hands and shouted, “HEY GLORIA!” in the direction of the bathroom.

Bede yelped in surprise and embarrassment before pulling Marnie’s hands away and stuffing a roll into her mouth.

“Shut-up!” he shouted at her, face entirely red now, “Look—it’s none of your business anyway, and I doubt Gloria even feels the same wa—”

“Sorry guys! I’m back now.” Gloria smiled as she took her seat.

Bede stood up suddenly, arms straight to his sides as Gloria sat.

Marnie snickered, nearly choking on her roll as Gloria inquisitively asked, “Hi, Bede. You okay there?”

He looked away and plopped defeatedly back into his seat, “N-nevermind… forget about it.”

Marnie continued to laugh to herself even after she’d swallowed her roll, and the three resumed their evening.

* * *

A few hours later, Gloria paid the diner a whopping ₽40,000 (including tips) before leaving the lounge.

“Man! I’m stuffed,” Marnie sighed happily, “Thanks Gloria! It was a real joy comin’ here!”

“Sure! No problem. I’m glad you all enjoyed it!”

They exited out the front doors into the nighttime air, and to their surprise, they were greeted by a boisterous group of interviewers.

“Champion Gloria! Champion Gloria!” they shouted simultaneously.

“What the—” Bede began bewilderedly, but was cut off by the demanding voices of the journalists.

“Ack! Calm down, calm down!” Gloria waved her hands to try and disperse them, but it was to no avail.

A security guard from Macro Cosmos exited the building and approached the crowd, “Alright, alright—clear out you lot! Leave the Champion alone!”

“Three questions,” Gloria decided, halting the guard, “I’ll answer three questions only.”

The reporters erupted in a sudden flurry of questions and requests, and Gloria pointed to a random person. The others fell silent, preparing their pens and pads.

“You! What is it?”

“Please Champion—tell us! Are you going to attend tomorrow’s festival!?”

“I’m planning on performing tomorrow night, but I can’t tell you anything about the performance. It’s a surprise.”

There was another eruption of questions, and Gloria picked someone else this time.

“Yes!” she pointed.

“Champion, do you reckon any of the gym challengers next year have a chance at taking your title?”

“We’ll have to see! I’m aware of my own strength—beating me isn’t going to be easy.”

After one final flurry of questions, Gloria pointed to a person in the back and shouted: “You! Go ahead—last one!”

“Gloria, please tell us—is it true that you currently have a relationship with one of the gym leaders!?”

Caught off guard, Gloria took a step back, “I—uh… I don’t—”

“Specifically Bede?” the reporter clarified.

Bede and Gloria’s faces went bright red before she dismissively responded, “I—no! Of course I don’t—”

“Anyway that’s enough from you lot, leave us alone you vultures,” Bede grumbled furiously as he grabbed Gloria’s arm to pull her away from the reporters.

In the background, the security guard dispersed the obnoxious interviewers, threatening to revoke their filming rights if they didn’t clear off.

There was an awkward pause as Bede pulled Gloria further away from the diner.

“Well that was, um, interesting,” Gloria laughed awkwardly.

“Yeah… what nerve to ask something like that…” his voice softened a bit after they were far enough away from everyone.

There was another pause as Gloria laughed nervously.

“Um, Bede? You can let go of my arm now.”

He glanced at her for a moment, and then dropped her arm somewhat harshly—a sudden sheepishness overtaking his posture.

“Sorry,” he muttered.

“You should be,” Marnie interjected.

Bede screamed, startling Gloria as he did so.

“Gosh Bede—are you a soprano…?” Gloria complained.

“Don’t tell me you forgot I was standin’ here…”

“Go home!” Bede shouted angrily.

“Geez! Chill out, fairy boy. It’s not like a’ just suddenly appeared out of nowhere…”

Marnie started to head towards the train station, leaving Gloria and Bede alone on the other side of the road.

“See you two at the festival tomorrow!” Marnie shouted, waving kindly at Gloria.

“Bye Marnie!” Gloria said, waving back.

Bede just stood there grumpily, arms crossed and his face still red.

Marnie stuck her tongue out in response, and darted into the Wyndon train station. Gloria and Bede were left standing awkwardly next to each other as the wind blew quietly around them.

“Well,” Gloria piped up, turning to smile charmingly at Bede, “I suppose we should be heading back home now. Next train leaves at ten o’clock for Hammerlocke.”

“Right… I just missed the one here in Wyndon…” he sighed, hearing a distant whistle blow from the station.

“I’m sure you could catch the train if you’re fast enough. Marnie probably made it.”

“Gloria—don’t get me wrong, but I’m not particularly interested in joining her. You know how we are when you’re not around…”

Gloria let out a quick exhale that resembled a single laugh, “I get it, I get it. In that case, you’ll have to traverse route 10 before that train _also_ departs.”

“Guess I have to, don’t I?” Bede sighed, “Anyway, see you around Gloria. Get home safe.”

Gloria waved, “G’nite Bede!”

Gloria stood there silently, now completely alone, “Suppose I should help clean up at the stadium.”

She started heading back to Wyndon stadium quietly, only to find Sonia, who was hurrying about searching for something.

Gloria smiled, “Sonia! Over here!”

Sonia turned to her left to see the champion standing before her, “Oh! Gloria!”

She ran over to join Gloria’s side, eager to see her again after months of not crossing paths.

“Hi Sonia, how are you? You seem a little out of breath…”

Sonia gasped exhaustedly, “No kidding… I came here with Hop, but I can’t find him anywhere… have you seen him?”

Gloria stopped in alarm, “Hop is here?” she paused, “No… I haven’t seen him. I definitely would’ve remembered running into him,” her eyelashes fluttered, “Gosh it’s been like… two years since I’ve really talked to him…”

“I noticed,” Sonia sighed, “He wanted to meet you, but for some reason he changed his mind and darted off somewhere. Anyway, it wouldn’t bother me that much, since he’s an adult and all, but he left behind his notebook.”

Sonia handed Gloria the notebook delicately, and she flipped through the pages absentmindedly. She recognized his handwriting, although it was a little neater than it was two years ago.

“Two years…” Gloria whispered, “I feel like such a bad friend. We both technically live in Postwick and yet we haven’t spoken for two years.”

“Oi, it’s not your fault, Gloria. Both of you have been rather busy… and besides, I think he’s kind of been avoiding you, too,” Sonia replied worriedly, “He hasn’t been interested in Pokémon battles for quite some time. I’m starting to wonder if he still has hard feelings from losing the league championship.”

Gloria looked up in shock, “Really? I feel like he would’ve moved on by now…”

“I know right?” Sonia sighed, “Anyway… do you know where he might be at this time of night? I saw him leave the stadium, but he disappeared really quickly into the crowd, so I lost track of him. I was planning on staying the night so that I could help at tomorrow’s festival, so I need to book a hotel. Do you mind getting this back to Hop for me?”

Gloria nodded, “Sure. I’ll get this to him as soon as I see him. I’ll probably chat with him too, if time allows for it.”

Sonia sighed in relief, “Thanks Gloria, I owe you one! Call me when you find him, alright?”

“Sure thing,” Gloria smiled softly, and waved to Sonia as she left.

As Sonia disappeared, Gloria looked down at Hop’s notebook again.

“It’s been quite some time,” she whispered, “Wonder if you still hate me.”


	4. Memory Three - In Loving Memory of Two Years Ago

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Discouraged after seeing Gloria with her new friends, Hop decides to leave Wyndon as soon as he possibly can. As he's waiting for his train to arrive, however, he runs into a familiar face of which he has no fond memories of—Bede. Their interaction doesn't end well of course, and Gloria ends up reprimanding both of them.

Hop walked into the train station quietly, avoiding eye contact with anyone who could’ve recognized him. All he wanted to do was go home and sleep. It had been a long evening for him—there was nothing he desired more. The train for Hammerlocke was leaving in five minutes. After it departed, he was supposed to take a one-way trip to Wedgehurst, and finally get back to his home.

He sat down on a metal bench near the boarding platform and watched as the snow from outside melted on the tracks. All evening, Gloria’s conversation was playing out in his head like a broken record—lingering on the words “since we’ve got the whole gang”. He couldn’t stop remembering how disappointed he’d felt in that moment. It was taunting him—telling him over and over that he was nothing but a two-year-old forgotten memory.

Five minutes passed. The train still didn’t leave the station.

“ALL PASSENGERS LEAVING AT TEN O’CLOCK FOR HAMMERLOCKE, WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE DELAY, BUT DUE TO SNOWY CONDITIONS, THE TRAIN WILL BE POSTPONED FOR ANOTHER THIRTY MINUTES. I REPEAT, THE HAMMERLOCKE TRAIN WILL BE POSTPONED FOR ANOTHER THIRTY MINUTES. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE.”

Hop froze, “Are you freaking kidding me…” he placed his hands on his face in exasperation, “There’s no way this could possibly get any worse…”

He sat there for a moment, cursing bitterly as he stared at the side of the train. As his eyes fixated on the windows, he suddenly caught eye with one of the passengers.

“Oh you’ve got to be BLOODY kidding me!” Hop’s eyes widened in disgust and fear as he quickly looked away, “Oh of course _he_ had to be on this bloody train…”

Bede stared at Hop out the window, his typical, permanently pissed look plastered on his face. Without smiling even the tiniest bit, Bede held up a hand as some sort of odd wave. Hop gave the same wave-like thing back—not really sure what else to do. Then he watched Bede stand up, grab something, and exit the train from the side doors.

“What the heck is he doing!?” Hop’s heart dropped, “There’s no way he’s coming over here right…? Because I don’t think I can handle seeing that jerk twice in once night…”

He didn’t see where Bede went after coming off of the train. Somehow he’d disappeared around the bend and slinked out of sight. Apprehensive, Hop sat in silence as the few people around him shuffled around. He tried focusing on the snow on the tracks to distract his mind from thinking about Bede, but every time he calmed himself, he could see Bede’s horrible smile taunting him.

Bede jeered in his mind—repeating insults that cut into him like barbed arrows. He couldn’t stop remembering how angry losing to him had felt. Despite it being two years ago, something about seeing his rival up close again, all buddy-buddy with his best friend, lit a fire in his heart that traveled up through his veins and across his entire body. Hop started tapping his foot subconsciously and found his eyes start wandering from the tracks. The anticipation was killing him.

Then next to him, somebody sat down. Hop jolted, his eyes alive and lit with anger—thinking Bede had just casually taken a seat like the selfish jerk he knew him to be, and then—and then…

He stared at the lady next to him. She looked rattled by Hop’s sudden movement, and was visually uncomfortable by his strange, sudden aversion.

“Ah—I’m sorry, I thought you were someone else…”

She blinked, confusion and disgruntlement creeping across her expression, and then she grabbed her things and left briskly in the opposite direction. The anger immediately drained from Hop, and was replaced with embarrassment and guilt. He’d just unintentionally scared some innocent person away by being paranoid.

“Stupid…” he placed his hands over his face.

“You can say that again.”

Hop jolted back, whipped his head to his left side, and saw Bede standing nearby on his phone, eating a bag of crisps from one of the vending machines.

“The _heck_ are you doing here!?” Hop shouted, his face still hot with embarrassment from his previous mishap.

“Waiting for the stupid train to start up, obviously,” Bede answered, not looking at him, “Figured I’d be bored, so I popped over here.”

Hop glared at him, “I’m not interested in talking to you.”

“Obviously.”

There was a tense silence between the two rivals.

“What are you even here for if you’re just going to use your stupid phone anyway?” Hop snapped.

“I thought you didn’t want to talk to me,” he mused, looking up from his phone to lock eyes with him.

“I don’t—I want you to leave me alone.”

“That’s what I’m doing,” Bede answered, looking once again at his phone.

Hop could feel his anger rebuilding inside him. It was getting steadily more difficult to restrain his hands from lashing forward at Bede’s face. Hop feared if Bede didn’t leave soon, he might accidentally cause a scene that would be difficult to explain to his Mum later.

“Say…” Bede started suddenly, putting away his phone, “It’s been what—two years now?”

Hop didn’t answer.

“When are you going to let our rivalry go, eh?”

“What do you mean?”

Bede stared at him incredulously, “We’re both adults now. Neither of us should be throwing these little tantrums at each other in public, don’t you think? Point is, I’ve been a tad guilty for never properly apologizing over the years, and I figured I could do something about it—”

Hop stood up, “Apologize!? You think you can just waltz over here, apologize real quick, and then go back home like it was all part of a checklist!? Well _sorry_ but this isn’t something you can be forgiven for in five seconds you brat. Now, I’m not in a particularly good mood today, so I’d appreciate it if you’d get your crap out of here and leave before I lose it!”

Bede stood there in shock briefly before his annoyed face returned, “So that’s how it is…” he sighed, and for a moment Hop could’ve sworn he looked sincere.

“And here I thought you’d gotten over all that stuff. I suppose wounds heal slower for some people.”

Hop sat back down, only feeling slightly guilty from the dejection in Bede’s voice. They were quiet again. For some reason, Bede still hadn’t left.

“What are you still doing here?” Hop spat viciously, clenching his fists to release tension, “Was I not clear enough to you?”

Bede stood quietly for a moment, before responding shortly, “I’m just thinking.”

His response annoyed Hop, yet neither of them moved.

After about a minute, Bede reached into his bag of crisps again, “I’ve got a few left,” he muttered, “Want one? I’m not a fan of the flavor and it would suck for them to go to waste—”

Hop snapped. He couldn’t believe Bede was still attempting to salvage some sort of camaraderie when there was clearly none to begin with. His mind spun with blind anger and rage, and without thinking, he balled his fist, swung around, and bashed Bede in the center of his face.

Everything went red after that. His body trembled with uncontrollable rage as he sent Bede stumbling backwards. Bede’s nose started bleeding instantly, leaving some on Hop’s hand. Bede dropped his crisp bag onto the tile and accidentally stepped on it.

Hunched over, one hand over his face, Bede’s voice returned.

“You GIT.”

The old Bede that he knew two years ago was back in seconds.

“Here I was, trying to make up for being a jerk—and this is your response, eh?” Bede’s eyes were intense as he spoke, a sudden bloodlust flickering in his eyes as he leered at Hop between his fingers, “I guess not everybody cares if I try to be nice!”

Bede’s fist flew forward blindingly fast, striking Hop in the jaw. Shocked, Hop fell back a few feet onto the pavement. He sat there a few seconds, wiping blood away from his mouth, before he jumped up and launched himself back at Bede. The two of them tore at each other like dogs—punching and pulling, as onlookers started to point and scream. Everyone was aware that the two hated each other, but nobody expected them to start a brawl in public.

The shoving, pulling, and pointless arguing kept up for a few minutes until Bede reached for his Poké Balls. He was just about to throw one when both of them heard someone scream.

“STOOOP!”

They both halted their fighting. The scream was a bloodcurdling, horrified, and infuriated screech that tore through Bede and Hop’s ears like a searing javelin. The two stepped away from each other and searched for who had spoken. As they stared, a horrible, bitter shame swept through their bodies when they realized who they were now facing.

The Champion stood before them, a look of angry betrayal in her eyes.

“How could you…” she whispered, shaking her head softly once before suddenly screaming, “HOW COULD YOU!?”

Her words were a bullet to the heart. Neither of them could meet her gaze.

She stepped towards Bede first, “Why did this happen?” she barked through clenched teeth.

“I didn’t—” Bede stammered.

“You DID,” tears sprung into Gloria’s eyes, “We had such a good day, and then you had to go and do something like this. What’s wrong with you!?” she spun to look at Hop now, “And YOU!” she yelled, not loud, but rather intense as she spoke, “Two years have passed. I thought you were BETTER than this.”

“I…” Hop couldn’t find the words to speak.

The three of them stood there in silence. The overhead speaker announced suddenly that the train was back on track and would be leaving in five minutes.

Bede opened his mouth, “I’m sorry,” he sighed, bowing his head, “Regardless of the situation, I shouldn’t have lashed out the way I did,” he looked around consciously, but thankfully everyone had left onto the train except for the three of them. He then turned to Hop apologetically, “I should’ve left you alone… I was afraid of this happening…”

Gloria looked up at him, her eyes now sad with pain. As Hop witnessed the pain in her eyes, it suddenly occurred to him that Bede and her were legitimately close friends. In that moment, he felt horribly out of place—like there was a wall separating him from the other two as they stared at one another.

 _She approached him first,_ he realized, _I can’t believe she actually…_

Bede placed his hand on her shoulder, “I’ll make it up to you, I promise. But…” he looked at the train, “I have to go,” Bede hesitated, picked up his bag of crisps that he’d dropped, and disappeared back into the train car.

As soon as Bede sat down, he looked painfully at Gloria. She stared at him with a similar expression on her face, and then looked away when the train disappeared down the tracks.

Then, when Bede was finally gone, it was just the two of them.

Hop’s friend whom he hadn’t seen in two years, was disappointed in him. Two years, and the first thing she got to witness was him thrashing Bede—someone whom she was now well acquainted—no. Close friends with. He felt like a stranger.

“I’m glad I came,” Gloria spoke suddenly, “If I hadn’t, you two would’ve destroyed each other.”

Hop didn’t respond.

“Why did this happen?” she asked pleadingly.

Hop winced, “It was my fault… he was just trying to be nice, but I didn’t have a very good day, and just seeing him after so long made me lose my cool. I can’t stand that guy…”

“He’s not as mean as he used to be,” Gloria snapped, “You’re stuck in the past Hop. Bede and I are better friends than you are with me right now. I’m on his side.”

Hop looked away from her, “I figured as much.”

They didn’t speak again for a minute or two. Hop’s train pulled up.

“You know…” he stopped for a moment, carefully thinking about his words, “I came down here with Sonia to see your match. I sort of was hoping that maybe I’d get to see you—since you’re always so busy these days. But when I saw you with Bede, I wasn’t really sure what to feel. You might be friends with him, but the only memories I have with him are bad. I honestly didn’t think he was trying to be nice… I figured he was just taunting me…”

Gloria shook her head violently, sending a few of her tears off to the sides, “You’re making excuses…”

“I know…” he sighed.

They paused again.

“But I’m glad I got to see you. Even if it was like this…”

He looked up, and saw there was a faint smile on her face. Hop sighed quietly, both relieved and guilty that she had so quickly forgiven him.

“Right…” was all he thought to say.

Gloria’s fingers trembled on a notebook she was holding, “Oh—I almost forgot…” she handed the notebook to Hop, “This is why I came here. Sonia asked if I could get this to you. She didn’t have time to go and find you because she needed to book a hotel here in Wyndon. I figured you’d be here, since this is the last train for Wedgehurst today.”

Surprised, he responded, “Oh—that’s right. I never told her where I went did I? Shoot… she’s probably worried sick…”

“I’ll let her know you’re alright…” she stopped, “mostly…”

“Oh…” Hop wiped his hand across his face, discovering that there was blood on it still from getting punched by Bede.

The intercom system suddenly blared, “THE LAST TRAIN FOR WEDGEHURST IS LEAVING IN FIVE MINUTES, I REPEAT, THE LAST TRAIN FOR WEDGEHURST IS LEAVING IN FIVE MINUTES. THANK YOU, AND HAVE A WONDERFUL REST OF YOUR NIGHT.”

“Well… sorry our reunion wasn’t really ideal, but… I’ve got to go back home. I don’t want to stay here.”

Gloria nodded, but didn’t say a word.

The train doors were open wide for Hop to cross through. He took a few steps towards them and looked back at Gloria for a brief moment. Their reunion really was horrible. Just by looking at her tear-smeared face, he knew his actions had scarred her.

“I hope next time goes better,” Hop sighed, smiling sadly at Gloria.

She looked up for a moment. Her face was red with anxiety, and there was suddenly a confused look in her eyes.

“I…” she uttered, looking left and right quickly—realizing quickly that her best friend was leaving once again, for what could be another two years if she did nothing about it.

“Hop—”

He turned towards her, “What is it Gloria—?”

The train whistle blew. There were only a matter of seconds until departure. Gloria had so many things running through her head that she didn’t know what to say or what order to say them. All she could think about was the idea of not seeing Hop again, and how sad she would be, and she didn’t want that. She didn’t want to leave him behind again.

Gloria apologized in her head for the things she was about to do, knowing it would kill her later. She rushed forward seconds before the train started to move, and placed her hands on Hop’s shoulders. It was quick, unexpected, and unromantic in every way, but it still happened. Gloria tapped Hop with the smallest possible kiss that could still be considered a kiss, and yet it seemed to last an eternity to him. Steam blew up from the wheels as snow evaporated from the tracks. The train was moving. The doors were closing.

Before Hop could do a thing, Gloria’s hands moved to Hop’s stomach and she shoved him full force into the cabin of the train. He landed on his back with a loud thud, and just as he fell, the doors shut. The train was off in seconds, and Gloria’s face disappeared as the station transformed into a motion-filled blur. His friend was gone once again.

Hop laid on the ground motionless, trying to process what had just happened. The cabin was empty, naturally. Nobody would need to go to Wedgehurst at ten o’clock in the evening. Those who did would’ve boarded an earlier train. While he was thinking this, Gloria’s face suddenly returned to him. In his mind, he could see her gorgeous, sad eyes, and her hopeless, tear-stained face. The memory of it stole his breath. If it weren’t for the fist fight he had just previously engaged in, his memory of her would be even more romantic than it was presently.

He remembered how it felt too. Her soft mouth in those two brief seconds and how shocking and warm and brilliant it was, yet how out of place it also was. Suddenly he pictured himself not leaving on the train. He pictured himself still there, and instead of getting pushed away he held her in the soft glow of the station lights, turning his head to the side slightly as she placed her arms around his neck—

“Shut-up!” he covered his face. His heart wouldn’t stop pounding. It felt like his body was burning up and yet the sensation was delightful, and scary, and fantastic, “What the h-heck is wrong with me…?”

He closed his eyes on the floor of the cabin, and let his thoughts disappear; leaving only his disconnected body to rest there on the ground.

* * *

The train stopped moving nearly an hour later. Hop wasn’t paying attention to the intercom or anything for that matter. He sat up suddenly, realizing that he was still lying on the floor, grabbed his notebook and bag, and proceeded out the open doors. Postwick was a five minute walk away from the train station. Rather than go to the lab, Hop decided he was going to head straight home. His head hurt horribly after being punched by Bede, and he was exhausted.

Trudging through the grass quietly, his thoughts returned to his body—coming with him also, a flood of embarrassment. He stopped for a moment, his hands trembling at his sides.

“I k-kissed Gloria,” he realized. Hop covered his face and bent forward, “I kissed—”

Hop broke into a sprint for his house. He didn’t want anyone to see his face, for he knew it was probably awful with the redness and the bruises. When he reached the front door, he grasped the knob with an iron grip, and thrust the door open so hard it rattled the frame. Hop’s mom was in the living room watching television.

“H-Hop!” she shouted, “You’re back home! Goodness you startled me…” she laughed, placing her hand on her chest as she got off the couch, “How was the league sweethear—”

“I’m-going-to-bed-sorry—” Hop muttered, pulling his hood over his face as he rushed upstairs.

“Leon’s home by the way if you want to…” her voice faded as he closed his bedroom door behind him, leaving whatever she said up to interpretation.

Hop stood there for a moment in silence before hobbling over to his bed. He dropped all of his items onto the floor and faceplanted onto his pillow—letting out a dramatic but accurate sigh. His head was still racing with questions, most of them variants of “why”. Hop groaned and punched his pillow. He felt so humiliated and yet elevated at the same time, and it was frying his brain.

“Why the heck did today happen…?” he wondered aloud. He glanced at his pillow, and realized some dried blood had stuck to it from his fist, “Crap—I need to wash up before anyone sees my fa—”

“Oi, Hop!” a muffled voice shouted behind his door. It was Leon, “Aren’t you going to greet your big bro? I’ve waited the whole day to see you again.”

_Oh no… Leon’s going to ask me questions if I don’t come up with an excuse!_

Hop sat up, “U-uh, just a minute! I’m getting dressed—”

Hop grabbed a water bottle from his bag and started to unscrew it, hoping he could get off the blood before anyone else saw.

“Oh don’t give me that. You just got home! I’m opening the door…” Leon was true to his word.

“Shoot—” Hop threw himself onto his bed, knocking over his water bottle onto his notebook, “NO!” he shouted. Fatal mistake.

“Oh dear! Sorry I startled you so bad—let me help…” Leon rushed over with a towel that was on the floor by Hop’s laundry basket, and started to dry up the wet spot on the carpet while Hop shook the water off his notebook.

Luckily it wasn’t that bad. His notebook’s cover prevented any real damage from occurring, but he’d failed to hide his face in those few seconds.

“There we go!” Leon smiled triumphantly as the last of the water was cleaned up, “Good thing nothing bad happened to your stuff.”

“Y-yeah… good thing…” Hop laughed, purposefully refusing to show his brother his face. He knew the moment he did was the moment he’d die of shame.

“Say…” Leon stood up, “You must be tired! You got home really late… later than me! How are you holding up?”

“I’m fine,” he muttered.

“Sorry? I didn’t catch that—turn towards me.”

Leon’s firm hand pulled on Hop’s shoulder, too strong for him to resist.

“Oh my…” he muttered when Hop around, immediately noticing the cause of Hop’s jumpiness, “So this is why you freaked, eh?”

Hop’s face was battered. There was a massive bruise on his lower chin, a huge vertical cut on his mouth, and there were traces of dried blood smeared under his nose.

“You got in a bloody fight, didn’t you? Literally…”

Hop didn’t look him in the eyes.

“Oi. I get it. Look at me, Hop. What did you freaking do?”

“It was his fault…” Hop whined, trapped.

“I’m gonna start guessing what happened if you don’t tell me who did it, and why.”

Hop winced, “It was… uh…” he let his voice trail off.

“Who?”

“It was Bede…” he muttered, “But—he started it! I never would’ve punched him if he’d just left me alone!”

“So you tussled with a gym leader…?”

Hop stopped cold, “I—um… I… yeah… yeah I did… sorry…”

Leon rolled his eyes, “Don’t apologize to me. You’ll need to apologize to Bede first, you idiot,” Leon observed him for a moment, noticing an unusual glare on Hop’s lip, “What were you even fighting about? Was it a girl or something?”

Hop froze, “W-what? No—that’s absurd! It was just beef from two years ago, that’s all…”

“Right…” Leon took his hands off of Hop’s shoulders, “So then you’ve just been testing out cosmetics for fun, then?”

“Cos—what…?” Hop halted for a moment, trying to remember what that word meant.

Leon crossed his arms impatiently, and then Hop’s face went bright red. He wiped the sleeve of his shirt across his mouth instinctively, and just as he did so, Leon grabbed his arm.

“H-hey stop it—” Hop wailed in terror.

“Look at that! It’s sparkly too!”

“SHUT-UP, SHUT-UP!” he screamed.

Leon burst into laughter as he let go of Hop’s arm, “Dang, mate—I never pinned you as the ‘tough chick magnet’ type, but you scored game tonight didn’t you?”

Hop fell to the floor, “I want to die…”

Leon’s laugh echoed throughout Hop’s room for a few more seconds, before he finally calmed down, “In all seriousness though—we need to talk about what happened tonight between you and Bede.”

“Right…” Hop moaned, sulking in a crouched position on the floor.

“Alright. Tell me what happened from start to finish.”

Hop sighed, “I suppose there’s no way out of this then…”

Hop relayed the situation back to Leon as best he could, without including the part where he got onto the train.

“So you’re telling me… that Bede riled you up, you punched him, and then he punched you back?”

“And so on…” Hop muttered miserably, massaging his chin.

“Yeesh… this could get ugly, Hop. If we’re not careful about how we go about this, you might get sued.”

Hop shuddered, “Sued…?”

“Yeah. Especially if you broke his nose.”

“I don’t think I did…” he paused, “No… it stopped bleeding after Gloria showed up. And I didn’t hear it crack.”

“You better be right about that,” Leon muttered, “I’m very disappointed in you, Hop. Luckily, I don’t think he’ll risk suing if he hit you back.”

“Hopefully that’s the case…” Hop sighed.

Leon glanced at his hair, “Looks like he pulled some of your hair out too.”

Hop paused, “Oh yeah… there was a bit of that too…”

Leon narrowed his eyes, “I take back what I said. This wasn’t a tussle, this was a flat-out catfight! You two are worse than women, I reckon!”

“What!?” Hop’s cheeks reddened, “I wouldn’t say that—”

“Well there’s no way you could’ve actually brawled with those twiggy arms of yours, mate.”

“EXCUSE me!?” Hop shouted angrily, “That’s just mean! You rather I punch you instead!?”

“Actually I would’ve,” Leon remarked matter-of-factly, “Because then I can ensure we wouldn’t end up in court or something.”

Hop shut his mouth angrily and turned away from him.

“Anyway, you still haven’t told me how you ended up with this,” he held up Hop’s sleeve to reveal a pink smudge.

Hop yanked his arm away, “Th-that doesn’t have to do with anything!”

“Sure…” Leon smirked, “Right. So when did your lady friend kiss you?”

Hop’s face flushed immediately and he looked in a different direction, “Why do I have to talk about this?”

“Because it—” Leon’s voice was interrupted by a few dinging sounds.

It came from Hop’s phone, which was located in his bag on the floor. Hop, glad to have a distraction, grabbed his bag and pulled out his phone. Before he could even turn it on, however, Leon snatched it from him.

“Hey! What gives!?”

“Oh nothing—just wondering if your new girlfriend just texted you back or something.”

“It’s not her!” Hop rammed into his brother, desperately trying to snatch away his phone, but to no avail.

“Here it is!” Leon grinned and started reading the texts.

“Oi! You insufferable—give it back!”

Leon suddenly stopped.

“Oh… that’s rough buddy…” he finally said after a minute of reading.

“What is it? You’re just pranking me aren’t you…” worried that Gloria texted him, he took his phone back—surprised that Leon didn’t resist his grip.

He read Gloria’s texts from just moments ago.

**Gloria**

**Friday, Oct 17 11:46 PM**

**Hey, Hop. Umm… I know it’s a little weird texting you like this, but… I just wanted to apologize for earlier…**

**Thing is I wasn’t acting myself and I’m not sure I really feel that way towards you. I just didn’t know what to say in the moment and I acted impulsively…**

**I’m sorry—I hope we can still be friends!** 🙏

“Oh…” Hop didn’t really know what to say back. He texted a short response.

**It’s fine. I understand what you mean. We can still be friends. Hopefully next time we meet won’t suck.**

She responded seconds later.

**Thank goodness… I was really worried about it. Thanks Hop! Goodnight.**

**See ya** **👋**

He hit the power button on his phone and hastily dropped it to the floor. Leon looked on for a minute or so before sitting down on Hop’s bed.

“You sort of got rejected just now,” he commented lightly.

“Yeah thanks for stating the obvious.”

There was another awkward pause.

“So…” Leon started again, “If she doesn’t like you, then why did she…?”

“You read the texts,” Hop muttered bitterly, “Besides—it doesn’t matter. I figured it was an accident anyway. Gloria isn’t the kind of person who would just do that.”

“What did she do, anyway?” Leon asked.

“She…” he hesitated, “When Bede left, I think she got all emotional. Guess it got the better of her and she sort of freaked out. The train was literally about to leave—the doors were closing, and she runs up, kisses me, and then shoves me full force into the compartment. I was on the floor the entire ride back.”

“Gross… why didn’t you get up? People puke on those trains.”

“Thanks for the reminder…” Hop glared at him.

“Anyways, point taken. This is your problem now—you’re an adult,” Leon muttered as he got up and stretched.

“I’m aware…” Hop sighed.

“Oh—and by the way, I’d wash that jacket of yours if I were you. I’m not sure if you’ve looked in a mirror yet, but if mum got a good look at you she’d have a heart attack.”

“What?” Hop took off his jacket to observe it more closely, “Oh. Yeah… good point…”

The front was covered in blood from Hop’s nose, and the back was blackened from the dirt of the train car.

“Yeah… you look like you went to war in that jacket,” Leon laughed, “Anyway, goodnight Hop. I need my sleep for tomorrow’s festival. Are you going too?”

“No. I think I’ll stay away from Wyndon for a bit, thanks…”

“Well, regardless—you should get to bed. It’s pretty late.”

“I will.”

“Okay then. G’nite Hop,” Leon waved as he closed Hop’s door.

“‘Nite…” Hop muttered as he left the room.

Once again, Hop was alone. Standing there in the middle of his room, he looked again at his ruined jacket. There was no doubt it needed to be bleached. Hop sighed, tossed his jacket into the laundry basket for later, and proceeded to the bathroom to wash his face up before anyone else noticed him.


	5. Memory Four - Morning Madness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bede has a rather rude awakening when he realizes his face is completely battered, thanks to his encounter with Hop from the night before. As a result, he spends a long part of the after-league festival trying to hide the bruises on his face with whatever means he can. Naturally, Opal catches on, and forces out the whole story.

Bede blinked awake early the next morning. It was 7:00—almost time for him to head over to the fairy gym in preparation for the festival. There was a requirement that each gym participate in the festival by handing out their league cards to anyone that came to the gyms. Each gym leader was also allowed to sign autographs and take pictures as well on this day. The biggest hype for the festival, however, was undoubtedly the evening event at Wyndon stadium. In the evening, each gym was supposed to put together a presentation of some sort, showing off their skill as gym leaders. There were also a variety of musical acts, and for the opening, all gym challengers that participated that year were supposed to march across the field and wave to the audience.

Bede had never truly been a big help for any past festivals, since he was still considered a trainee, but this time, Opal allowed him to take over preparations for their entire performance block. He’d already planned and mapped the whole demonstration—all that was left was to endure the day at his gym, forcefully signing autographs and posing for pictures.

He sighed, got up, and headed to the bathroom to prepare for the day ahead of him.

“Hopefully nothing goes wrong today—” he dropped his toothbrush, “Oh… oh no… is that me?”

He stared at his reflection. It hadn’t really occurred to him what he looked like the night before. It was all such a blur, he could hardly really recall what had gone on. But in that moment, staring at his reflection, he could remember absolutely everything.

“That’s me…” he panicked, “Oh… my… gosh…”

His face was bruised in multiple places, and his hair was a tangled mess from sleep. Though most of his bruises appeared to be minor, the original spot where Hop had begun their brawl was extremely opaque. There was a thin cut on his left cheek that ran in-between his jaw and his nose, and it was shaped perfectly like the imprint of a fingernail. Surrounding that cut was a massive, purple bruise resembling Hop’s right fist. Overall, it wasn’t pretty…

“Oh no… oh no…” Bede lifted up his bangs as he observed his face in the mirror, “The one day I have to present myself to the entire region, and I look like THIS.”

Bede paused. He started pacing around his bathroom uncertainly, thinking desperately for a solution.

“What do I do… shoot—what in the bloody name of Arceus, am I supposed to do about THIS!?” a queasy feeling rose in his stomach, “I’m screwed no matter what,” he realized, “I’m utterly screwed.”

Bede slumped to the floor, defeated, “There’s only one thing I can do now…” he sighed.

Bede walked back into his bedroom and picked up his phone. He put in Opal’s number and waited for her to pick up.

“Hello, this is Opal?” she answered uncertainly.

“Hi, miss Opal—it’s Bede.”

“Yeah I know it’s you. Your picture came up when you called,” she grunted, “Now mind telling me where you are, sonny? You’re about to run late, here.”

“Actually that’s why I’m calling…” Bede sighed, crossing his fingers his plan would work, “See—I woke up a bit sore this morning, and I’m suspicious that I might be coming down with something… I don’t think I’m fit to see a bunch of people today—”

“Are you trying to call in SICK Bede!?” Opal suddenly roared. Bede had to move the phone away from his ear to keep from going deaf.

“Well—I—” he stammered.

“Listen here, sonny boy! You sound fine enough to me. Today is going to be a VERY stressful day, and I will NOT tolerate your absence. You should’ve thought about this BEFORE you went and got yourself sick, you hear me!?”

“It’s not like I did it on purpose!”

“Don’t you talk back to ME!” she yelled, “Now you get you rear-end over here RIGHT NOW before I send my personnel after you, UNDERSTAND!? I need you to be here today!”

“No—listen I seriously can’t—”

“Unless you’re either dead or missing both of your legs, kid, you can come to the festival tonight. Have you had either of those things happen to you?” she hissed.

“No...” Bede sighed, defeated.

“That’s what I thought. Now hurry up and get over here—lines are starting to form outside the doors!”

She hung up.

“Golly…” Bede moaned, “I suppose everyone’s in a bad mood these days…”

Bede re-entered the bathroom and looked at his reflection again.

“What do I do now…?”

* * *

The birds outside were chirping calmly. Gloria was awake, but she hadn’t moved her gaze from the ceiling for at least half an hour. Her head wouldn’t stop racing from last night’s episode. Silently, she glanced at the clock. It was almost eight. She needed to get ready for the festival, but she didn’t have the energy to move.

She blinked, Hop’s face floating into her mind for a moment, but then quickly being replaced by Bede’s. She remembered the train, and how guilty she felt for playing with Hop’s feelings. She could see Hop’s mangled face looking back at her, and then Bede’s. Then their hurt expressions met her memory—their dejected, self-loathsome eyes, and she felt sick.

“What am I doing?” she whispered up at the ceiling, “Why did they have to be there yesterday? Everything’s such a mess.”

A familiar face entered her mind. A voice she knew long ago crept into her ears and traveled down her fingertips like a spiraling icy snake. That snake then spun across her spine and her ribs until it gnawed at her very heart.

_What is your desire, Gloria?_

She closed her eyes, “My desire.”

In the silence of her room, Gloria jolted slightly upon hearing her phone ring on the hotel desk. She stood up slowly as it played an upbeat melody.

“Hello?”

“Hi Gloria! This is just your manager checking in on you. Are you awake?”

“Clearly,” Gloria answered, her voice lacking its usual sweetness.

“Hmm… well maybe not _mentally_ awake yet. Anyways, it’s eight o’clock—are you planning on helping plan for the festival this afternoon at three? The performance officially starts at six and goes until about nine in the evening. I trust you’re aware of this?”

Gloria nodded, realized she wasn’t on camera, and responded softly, “I have my performance ready.”

“Yes of course,” her manager babbled, searching for words, “But um… are you going to help set up, or sign cards, or anything like that?”

Gloria hesitated, “I don’t know.”

There was a pause.

“O-oh. Well… think about it then, okay?” her manager sighed, “Uh… do you need me to send someone to check on you? You sound a bit—”

“I’m fine.”

Another pause.

“I trust so… um… well, if you need anything, feel free to call me back. I’m helping organize some last minute changes, so you won’t see me probably at all today. Good luck to you and your performance then, Champion. Bye!”

The call ended.

“Bye…”

Gloria stood there for a few more seconds in the darkness of her hotel. After a minute, she placed her phone back onto the desk, and reached for the closed drapes. She grasped them, collecting the fabric in her hands, and muttered the words:

“Vivite somnium.”

Gloria threw open the drapes and the room was flooded with a brilliant light. She paused for a moment, standing with her eyes closed in that light, and then strode over towards her Poké Balls which were in a small satchel on her desk.

She hesitated, all six Pokémon in hand, and after a moment of frowning, a sudden, well-practiced smile spread across her face. She tossed all of the Poké Balls into the air and shouted:

“Goooood morniiiing!”

All of her Pokémon emerged at once and greeted her with their respectively joyful cries.

“Hello everyone!” she smiled, “Today’s the festival day—are you all ready?”

They all cheered excitedly, hugging and nudging Gloria with playful glee.

“I’m glad!” she laughed, and proceeded out of her hotel shortly afterwards.

* * *

Careful not to draw attention to himself, Bede walked out of the back door of his house and quietly made his way over to the fairy gym. Looking to both sides cautiously, he snuck into the back door, and tiptoed into the gym. Luckily, no one really took notice of him, despite the fact that his clothes were bright pink. Bede figured the best way to get people to look away from his bruised face, was by covering it with something. In this case, he re-purposed a scarf Gloria had given him to become a mask—and he specifically chose her scarf because it was the only one he owned and really took good care of.

Overall, nobody was really aware of Bede’s new look. The employees were taught not to stare no matter how absurd the gym leaders dressed, and so nobody seemed to care that Bede had a magenta scarf pulled up above his nose.

After walking through a significant number of hallways, Bede finally made his way to the front, where people _were_ in fact gathering in swarms behind the closed doors. After all—the first five hundred people got rare league cards from both Opal and Bede, along with next year’s spring edition card.

“THERE you are!” Opal shouted, sending a chill up Bede’s spine.

“Ah—Miss Opal!” Bede stuttered, tugging his scarf up a bit to ensure she couldn’t see his face.

“Golly, son—you took your time, didn’t you!?” she nagged, putting her hands on her hips.

“Sorry—I was a bit sluggish this morning—”

“Enough excuses,” Opal snapped, “let’s put you to work! There’s a few crates over there filled to the brim with rare league cards. They’re all yours. Get them on the tables, and start signing them. We only have an hour until opening!”

“R-right, ma’am…” Bede darted over to the boxes and began spreading them across his table.

“Stack a bunch to the side, spread signed ones on the table for people to grab. The others can stay in the box until the first bunches run dry. Now get signing!”

Stressed, Bede started to quickly scribble his signature onto the hundreds of league cards that lay before him. Luckily, it wasn’t too difficult of a job for him, since he’d had two years to practice signing cards quickly, but five hundred cards was still a LOT of cards to go through.

“I’m going to have carpal tunnel by the time I’m done here,” he grunted.

The time flew by fast. Luckily, he’d signed around two hundred cards within the hour time frame, so when the front doors were finally opened, the fans could easily launch themselves at the tables and grab their precious rare league cards. Bede, on the other hand, continued to violently sign cards for the next several minutes. Card after card was placed on the table by a volunteer, until all five hundred were gone.

Bede extended his hand, “Next card.”

“I—um—there’s none left… what do I do?” a timid girl stuttered. He could tell she was a volunteer by the flustered look on her face as she stood next to Bede. She’d probably never stood this close to someone so famous in her entire life.

“There’s none left?” Bede let out a relieved sigh, “Thank goodness—those people were intense,” he smiled at the girl to ease her nerves a bit, “Thanks for your help—there’s no way I could’ve done this so well without a volunteer.”

“You’re welcome sir,” she smiled bashfully.

“Anyway, now that things have calmed down, would you go open those normal league cards over there and bring them here? Those are pre-signed, so I’m going to leave for autographs and pictures, and your job will be to hand out what remains. Understand?”

“Yes sir,” she nodded stiffly, still visibly tense. The girl walked off to open up some of the boxes while Bede reported back to Opal.

“Miss Opal, I’ve done what I need to do. I’m supposed to give out autographs and pictures now, right?”

Opal turned to face him after handing out an autograph to a young trainer, “I suppose…” she muttered, eyeing him, “but won’t it be a bit difficult with that thing on your face?” she pointed at his scarf.

“Ah—I can’t take this off,” he grumbled, “I don’t want to spread germs.”

Opal scoffed, “It would look less strange if you wore a surgical mask, my boy. At least then people will know what’s wrong with you.”

“Yeah but this is more comfortable,” Bede argued shortly, well aware that a mask would only cover the front of his face.

“But it isn’t as practical.”

Bede hesitated, recognizing the impatient edge of her voice, “Are you suggesting I take this off?”

“Yes, I am.”

Bede paused again and started to uncomfortably shift his weight from foot to foot, “May I take a break, Miss Opal? I need a minute to think about it—”

Opal glared at him, “You’ve been acting very uncooperative today regarding your quote unquote ‘sickness’. I’m starting to wonder if you’re just trying to get on my nerves.”

“I’m going to go now,” Bede said quickly, noting the suspicion in her voice.

He started to walk towards the locker rooms.

“Oi! I’m not finished yet, Bede,” Opal stood up and started to follow him.

Bede quickened his pace as he opened the door, and managed to get into the trainer’s prep lobby before Opal could stop him. The trainer’s prep lobby was a secondary room to the right, where trainers could have snacks and prepare for their next battle. The left side led to the men’s locker room, and the right side led to the women’s. Branching off the walls were various other rooms, including a room full of costumes and makeup.

“BEDE!” Opal shouted, startling a few staff members who were opening boxes stored in the prep room.

Bede turned around, “Opal this isn’t necessary—”

“I’m losing my patience with you boy! Get your rear end over here or I’m going to pull that thing off your face myself!”

Bede’s face went pale, “I’m going to put the mask on—I promise, just give me a second to find one—”

Opal closed the distance between them within two strides, and before Bede could do anything, she grabbed his scarf and tore it away from his neck so hard it burned. Bede’s knees buckled and he fell forwards onto all-fours. Quickly, he covered his face with his hands and turned away from everyone in the room.

“Oh come on, boy—it’s not like you have the plague. You’re being melodramatic about this whole thing…” she paused, noticing that Bede wasn’t moving from his spot regardless, “Wait a minute… you’re not sick, are you? What the dickens is it then?”

Bede sighed. He’d been utterly cornered, “I told you I should’ve stayed home today…”

He sat up, pulled his hands away from his face, and turned half-way towards her.

Opal, still unable to see Bede’s face clearly, snapped at two staff members before pointing a firm finger back towards Bede.

“You two—help him up, would you?”

The two staff members took Bede’s arms and helped stand him up. When he was righted, he snapped his arms away instantly, and continued to keep his eyes and face away from Opal’s. In response, she grabbed his chin and pulled his face so that he was forced to look her in the eyes.

“Ouch—” he winced as she pinched the spot where his face was bruised.

Opal stared at his face, and he watched as her eyes narrowed in growing disappointment. He tried averting his eyes to the side, but when he did, she turned his face again so that he couldn’t avoid her intense gaze.

“Hmph,” she huffed, releasing him after another moment, “Well that explains that then.”

Bede didn’t say a word. Instead, he glowered at the corner of the room while massaging his cheek.

“So what happened to _you_ eh?” she asked bluntly.

“Well obviously I got punched in the face.”

“Don’t try me, boy.”

Bede winced, and started again, “It was just a stupid argument—he’s not going to report me, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“Report _you?_ ” her eyes widened, “So you hit him back, then?”

Bede grimaced angrily at her perceptiveness.

Opal shook her head, “Such a foolish boy, I say… well, this is _your_ problem—not mine. Regardless, I need you to work, so…” she glanced around, “Is Nancy here today?”

The staff members looked at each other, shrugging, until one responded, “She’s here—but she’s volunteering outside for the face paint booth.”

“Go fetch her, will you? I need her to work on Bede’s face so he can sign autographs.”

Makeup. She’s going to force him to wear makeup to cover his face. He wondered why he didn’t think of that.

The staff member jogged out of the prep room for a moment, and after a few minutes, he returned with Nancy.

“You wanted to see me?” Nancy asked quizzically.

“Yes. You have a client,” she ushered to Bede, who was standing there with his arms crossed.

“Oh my…” Nancy started, “Uh—I’ll get to work right away, ma’am.”

“Please do,” she glanced reproachfully at Bede, and then shook her head, “Teenagers these days…” she muttered as she exited the room.

“Where to?” Bede asked, his voice filled with humiliation and burning hostility.

“Right—um, let’s just use this room here,” Nancy directed Bede towards a room on the far end. Naturally it was the makeup studio.

“Sure,” he muttered.

He refused to speak for the duration of the time needed for Nancy to apply his makeup. The entire process was painful. When she used the brush on his bruise, it felt more like somebody was sliding sandpaper across his face. The worst pain was when she covered his cut with foundation. He wished he’d taken better care of himself the night before. If he had, he might’ve been able to fix the worst of his abrasions before makeup was necessary.

“I’ve finished,” she commented lightly.

Bede looked at his face in the mirror. It looked a little fishy up close, but from a few feet, he wouldn’t have been able to notice there was anything wrong. Nancy did a good job.

“Thanks…” he sighed, “I’m sorry I wasted your time like this…”

“Don’t worry about it,” she shrugged, “This is my job after all.”

Nancy left the room quietly, leaving Bede alone amongst the costumes and suspiciously scented perfumes.

“Guess I should get back to work,” he muttered, touching his invisible cut gingerly with his fingertips.

Bede stood up and exited out of the door he came in with Nancy. He looked around the prep room. From what he could see, there were still several staff members shuffling about with boxcutters, but for the most part the chaos had died down.

“Still busy?” he asked a random employee.

“Yeah,” they responded shortly, “You better get out there—you’ve got a girl fan club waiting outside for your picture.”

Bede glowered in disgust, “Great… I hate this bit…”

He stepped outside and reentered the lobby. As suspected, it was still busy—but not overcrowded like it was at the opening.

“THERE he is!” a high pitched squeal shot through Bede’s eardrums and rang against his skull like a gunshot.

A group of five girls dressed in pink fairy uniforms and identical twintail hairstyles were all standing at the edge of the room with rare league cards in their hands. The only difference he could spot were their hair colours.

“Oh shoot—” Bede managed before the girls came rushing towards him.

“Bede!” the pink-haired girl shouted exuberantly, “I’m Sasha—head of the Fairy Fanclub! The five of us are your BIGGEST fans!”

“Totally!” chimed the yellow-haired girl.

“Can we, like, get your autograph!? And your picture and—gosh! There’s just so much I want but it’s all so stunning yanno!?” the green-haired girl babbled.

“I—uh—” Bede started, but was interrupted by the blue-haired girl.

“We’d totally appreciate it for our blog and stuff! It would be such a hit!”

“Please!?” pinky pleaded again.

“I mean that’s why I showed up here—” Bede mumbled.

“By the waaay, where did you run off to so fast!? We got all worried and stuff ‘cuz Opal was chasing you, and we didn’t know why…” the purple-haired girl whined.

“I’m not going into detail about that…” Bede responded sharply.

“Well at least give us a picture!” the yellow one asked again.

They were starting to get on his nerves, so he held up his hands in frustration and shouted, “I’m _giving_ you a stupid picture—so shut-up and STOP interrupting me, please!”

Upon saying that, the five girls squealed longingly and one of them responded, “Ooooh!~ It’s so cute when you get all mad and stuff!~”

“Somebody kill me,” he muttered in disgust.

The five girls posed around Bede instantly, while pinky took out a selfie stick. Each one of the girls made sure that they were touching Bede in some way—making him rather uncomfortable, but after two years of posing with strangers, he was sort of used to it. Bede gave a sort of grim smile that screamed his secret annoyance, but apparently it was good enough for the girls because they started squealing again once they saw the picture.

“Oh-my-gosh~ he’s so gorgeous!” the blue girl sighed obnoxiously.

Bede shuddered and wiped his clammy palms on his shorts.

“Thank you Bede~!” the green girl chimed, “We’ll make sure you fight all of us individually in the next gym challenge!”

The other girls jumped and giggled in agreement while Bede leered at them.

“Byeee!” pinky said again, “We love youuu!~”

“Sure you do,” Bede snapped, as the girls jumped out the doors.

He stood there for a moment before letting out a pained sigh.

“Ugh… that was terrible,” he muttered shortly.

He glanced to his side and suddenly realized Opal was smirking at him.

“Having fun?” she laughed.

“Stop it,” he glared back.

“There’ll be a lot more of that today, hope you don’t mind.”

“I’m aware.”

* * *

A few hours after the morning madness, Bede was completely gutted so he decided to go on break. He stumbled out of the main entrance and made his way back into the preparation room so that he could relax for a bit. He was about to take out his lunch when his phone suddenly started ringing. He picked it up quickly, forgetting to check the contact name.

“Hello? This is Bede…” he answered warily.

“Hi Bede! How are you?” It was Gloria.

Bede sat up as a wave of relief fell over him, “I’m fine now. It’s been a long day already—but I’m on break, which is nice.”

“Oh good! I’ve been feeling so stressed because of the festival tonight… ahhh! I’m so nervous!” Gloria sighed.

“Oh don’t worry about it too much—you did great last year. I’m sure this year’ll be fine too.”

“Think so?” she paused, her contagious smile leaking through the phone despite her picture not being displayed, “Oh—by the way… how’s your face doing after getting beat up yesterday?”

Bede hesitated, “It hurts. A lot.”

Gloria grimaced, “It does?” she gave a long sigh, “I’m so sorry about this—I need to talk to Hop and clear things up. Are you going to be able to perform with your face all bruised?”

Bede blinked in realization, “Oh… that’s true… I don’t know…”

“Hmm….” there was a long pause, “Alright. I’ve got time. I’m going to stop by Ballonlea.”

“What!? Gloria—that’s not necessary... you have more important things to take care of! Go practice your performance or something—I’ve got makeup specialists here that’ll help me save face—literally.”

“No, no, no—I owe it to you. I’m coming over.”

“What? Gloria since when do you owe me anything? If anything, I owe _you_ for the dinner you bought me.”

“It can’t be helped. Besides, I’ve been meaning to talk to you after what happened yesterday. Wait for me, alright?”

Bede sighed, and paused for a brief moment before muttering, “Fine. Come over and do whatever you’re meaning to do. I’m too tired to argue.”

Gloria smiled, “Good! I’ll be over in a few minutes.”

“Just a few? I thought you were in Wyndon—that’s more than a few minutes away.”

“I’m already in a cab. Have been for the past ten minutes.”

Bede stopped, “So you were going to show up regardless if I agreed or not.”

“Hmm,” Gloria smirked on the other end.

Bede placed his hand on his forehead, “Gall… I can’t believe you…”

“See you in a few!” Gloria chimed.

“Sure…” he muttered, and hung up.


	6. Memory Five - The Wyndon Festival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gloria flies over to Ballonlea, as promised, and delivers Bede something special to treat his injuries. Hours after their exchange, the festival commences, Gloria performs, and then she proceeds to reveal a hidden talent of hers to the entire region. She and Bede meet again shortly afterwards to decompress, but they're interrupted by Leon.

Gloria showed up at the Ballonlea gym in less than ten minutes. Careful not to attract attention, she put on her white sun hat and black sunglasses so that people wouldn’t recognize her as easily.

“Thank you,” she nodded to the man who flew her over to the gym, and glancing at her Corviknight pass, he left free of charge.

Silently, she stepped over to the side entrance of Ballonlea gym, and snuck inside without attracting any eyes. When she opened the door, a Macro Cosmos member was standing in front of it.

Bewildered, he uttered, “Ma’am—this isn’t an entrance, please use the front door—"

Gloria tilted her sunglasses down so he could see her brown-tinted eyes—coloured that way with her special contact lenses.

“Oh,” he responded shortly, and extended out his arm in the direction of the hall, “Pardon my rudeness, miss Champion. Proceed.”

“Thank you very much sir,” she chimed, flashing a sweet smile at him before proceeding into the prep room which was connected on the right. She opened the door quietly, and found that it was completely empty.

“Where is he?” she wondered, chewing her lip. She stepped off to the left and peeked into the men’s locker room, “Bede…? Hello?” there was no response, “I’m coming in…”

Gloria tiptoed shyly into the men’s locker room. Like the women’s, there were rows of benches all around in the changing area, and tall lockers encased the four walls on all sides. Further back were the showers and toilets. In the back, she could hear water running from one of the showers, and immediately her face went red.

“A-ah! I better leave—” she started to exit when she heard a voice.

“Gloria?” Gloria spun around, eyes wide and face burning, “What the heck are you doing in here!?” Bede fumbled, aghast at her presence.

Bede’s hair was wet, but other than that, she hadn’t walked in on anything.

“I-I-I—” she took a deep breath, “I didn’t see you, so I went looking and I’m sorry if I came at a bad time—”

“Get out!” Bede shouted, his face reddening, “What if someone comes in here!? They’ll get the wrong idea—”

“I’m leaving—sorry! I don’t know what I was thinking!” Gloria stepped out quickly and covered her face with embarrassment, “What the heck am I doing…”

Bede came out a few minutes later.

“You’re lucky I got dressed,” he fumed.

Gloria blushed, “I’m sorry—I’m sorry! I wasn’t thinking,” she rubbed her eyes with her thumb and forefinger.

There was an awkward pause before Bede spoke up, “So why did you want to come?”

“Oh! That’s right…” Gloria opened her bag and located a square device, “I need to transfer something—hold on a minute.”

The device was a portable PC gun—the highest grade, of course, for accessing all Pokémon stored away in online boxes. As she rummaged through its functions, each of her many Pokémon were displayed briefly on its small screen.

“Let’s see… it’s in my ‘Psychic’ bin,” she muttered aloud.

“What Pokémon are you looking for?”

“My Gardevoir, Cosmos,” she stopped, “Oh—I forgot. I moved it to my ‘Teammates’ bin for competitions… here we go!”

She stopped scrolling when she reached a picture of a Gardevoir, and took out a random Poké Ball that she already had in her backpack.

“Sorry Orbeetle—I’ll bring you back in a second,” she smiled at her Poké Ball and tapped it lightly. Orbeetle chirped understandingly behind the transparent exterior of the ball, and she placed it onto a beveled indentation on the device’s front.

Gloria pressed the “transfer” button on the touchscreen, and Orbeetle’s Poké Ball was sucked into the device. A few seconds later, a green friendship ball rose out of the indentation. Gloria withdrew it happily, and released her Gardevoir. After a flash of light, Gardevoir appeared, and hummed adoringly to her owner, Gloria.

“Hello Cosmos!” Gloria smiled happily, “Mind doing me a little favor?”

Gardevoir shrugged nonchalantly with a friendly smile on its face.

“What are you going to do with Cosmos?” Bede asked.

“Just hang on a sec—” Gloria pulled out a small empty bottle, “Cosmos? Can you fill this with Life Dew, please?”

The Pokémon nodded and held its hands out in front of it.

“Life Dew?” Bede wondered, “That’s a move that heals all ally Pokémon in the area… what’re you getting it for?”

“Well obviously it’s for your face. If it can heal a Pokémon, why can’t it heal a human being?”

“Think so…?” Bede stiffened uncomfortably, unsure if partaking of Life Dew was actually a smart decision, “You know—people and Pokémon have different body compositions and DNA… I don’t think that Life Dew will have identical effects if my cells are too different—”

“Oh shush!” she interrupted, “It’s better than nothing, isn’t it? Besides—Cosmos is a very powerful Pokémon. It produces some of the most efficient Life Dew you could find.”

At Gloria’s command, a bead of water magically appeared in front of Cosmos’ hands and grew into an apple-sized sphere. The water had a slight, lime green tint to its colour—a bit like tea, and it sparkled mystically in the air. Gloria held out the bottle, and Cosmos levitated the water carefully into the small container. Gloria stuck a cork in the top and handed it to Bede.

“It looks like a magic potion,” she commented jokingly.

“It actually does, doesn’t it?” Bede took the bottle from Gloria’s hands carefully, “Um… you sure this is safe?”

“It’s fine. Just relax, won’t you?”

Bede sighed and shook his head, “Fine—I’ll give it a shot.”

He tipped the bottle back and let the mysterious water trickle down his throat. Just as it looked, it also felt like a magic potion would. He felt a slight tingling sensation as the strange drink seemed to spread across his arms and legs. As Gloria watched him drink, a warm heat spread throughout his body—though he wasn’t sure if it was the dew or her mere presence that merited that response. Within a second, the bottle was completely empty.

“How did it taste?” Gloria asked curiously.

Bede thought for a moment, trying to describe the taste, “There wasn’t much flavor, really. But the aftertaste is a bit sweet,” he realized, wiping his mouth on his sleeve, “It mostly just felt weird drinking it.”

“I bet,” Gloria laughed, “You were all glowy—did you notice?”

Bede jolted, “Glowy…?”

“Yeah! Life Dew envelops the Pokémon it heals in a bright, green light. I guess it’s the same for humans.”

“Weird…” he turned away, slightly embarrassed.

There was a quiet pause before Gloria strode closer to Bede to examine his face.

“Wh-what are you doing!?” Bede stepped back suddenly.

“What does it look like? I’m trying to see if your injuries healed or not.”

“Oh,” Bede muttered.

For a moment, he could’ve sworn she was doing something else.

“I can’t say for sure, because of your makeup, but overall you look okay,” she poked his face with her pointer finger.

Bede lightly flicked it away, “Stop it. I don’t need you inspecting me like this,” he paused, noticing something “Oh. That didn’t hurt—when you flicked me just now. Perhaps the dew did some good after all…”

Gloria grinned, giving Bede a candy-meltingly warm smile, “Told you it was a good idea!”

Bede rubbed his face, surprised that the pain was completely gone, “Yeah… you could make a fortune if you sold this stuff you know.”

She smiled, patted Cosmos on the head kindly, and returned it to its Poké Ball, “Now that this is done with, I think you should get back to work. You’ve probably got a line waiting for you.”

Bede rolled his eyes, “Right… I almost forgot…”

He picked up his scarf that he’d left on a bench, and started to walk towards the exit.

“I have to go help at the festival—I hope you don’t mind,” Gloria smiled pleasantly.

Bede shrugged, “It’s fine. I’ll be seeing you there, I guess. Bye Gloria.”

She nodded, “Bye! And, by the way…” her eyes glinted with a sudden hidden mischief, “my scarf looks lovely on you.”

Gloria quickly stepped out into the opposite hallway and disappeared from sight—leaving Bede standing there with flushed cheeks, and a dumbstruck look on his face.

* * *

Gloria inhaled sharply as adrenaline coursed through her veins. She held that breath for a moment, and then released it in a big huff.

“You’re going to be fine, Gloria,” she reassured herself, “It’s a short performance—it’s going to be absolutely fine.”

Gloria stood up and paced around the prep room of Wyndon stadium. Her heart was racing with nervousness. Despite her spirited personality, Gloria did not consider herself a performer. She found battling was an easy sport—just needing a bit of Pokémon knowledge, and a good sense of judgement. Anything else that included a spotlight or a microphone was absolutely terrifying to her.

“Gloria! You’re on in three minutes! Are you ready?” Gloria’s manager asked, peeking her head into the prep room from the other side of the door.

Gloria jumped and placed her hand on her chest fearfully, “Y-yes! I’m almost ready…” she took in another deep breath.

“Alright—I’d start walking out the doors, if I were you.”

She nodded warily, “I know.”

Gloria stood up, stretched her arms, and closed her eyes. _Get yourself together. There’s nothing to be afraid of._

She pushed open the doors. The announcer’s dialogue was building up—her cue was coming. She started to walk down the long hallway that led to the stadium. Leon was in the center of the stage, riling up the crowd as usual.

_Hurry, hurry, hurry—_

She broke into a run.

_Don’t mess this up!_

“…PLEASE WELCOME BACK OUR BELOVED CHAMPION OF GALAR, GLORIA VERITY!”

She leapt into the spotlight on perfect cue. As practiced, she threw out her arms and twirled out into the center of the field as the crowd chanted her name. Her bright pink dress spun in the chilly breeze of the evening air and twinkled in the eyes of the audience members as she sang out the words, “Good evening everyone!”

When she reached the center of the field, she stopped in a pirouette, and bowed to the audience. The spotlight settled on her back and heated her neck in the few seconds of pause, and the announcer revealed the name of Gloria’s song that she’d be performing to. While he did so, she took six Poké Balls out from the folds of her dress and released them onto the field.

“FOR TONIGHT’S OPENING, OUR BELOVED CHAMPION WILL NOW PERFORM TO THE CLASSICAL PIECE: _INTRODUCTION AND RONDO CAPRICCIOSO._ ”

The piano cued from above, and the spotlights started to turn on for her Pokémon as well.

“Good luck, guys!” she whispered, and they all nodded back.

When the violin began, Gloria moved from a pirouette to a graceful upward gaze. She spun, letting her feet sweep her around the edge of the field romantically, and her Pokémon followed her from behind. As the song carried on, her Pokémon took the stage. Gloria’s movements changed and became more like directions and cues for her Pokémon. With each crescendo was a different stunt, movement, and attack. She’d purposefully constructed her Pokémon’s dance to share similarities to the style Pokémon performers use in the Kalos region.

The beautiful performance reached the peak of its drama when Gloria Gigantamaxed her Inteleon. It’s gorgeous water moves showered the stadium in delicate dewdrops—not enough to make everything wet, but enough to let the stage glisten in watery, prismatic sparkles. At the last strike of the violin, Gloria and her Pokémon bowed, and Inteleon decreased back to its normal size.

The crowd went insane with excitement and applause, and Gloria rushed off the field and ran back into the sidelines, waving the whole way as she left. As soon as her performance was done, the band started playing Galar’s anthem, and all of the year’s gym challengers started parading across the stage with their signature Pokémon out at their sides.

Gloria sat down on a bench in the prep room—exhausted.

“Hey,” a familiar voice greeted her.

She turned, “Oh! Hi guys!” she smiled warmly.

Marnie, Piers, Bede, and Sonia were all in the prep room waiting for their turns to perform.

“That was fantastic!” Sonia cheered happily, “That whole thing made me want to start listening to more classical music!”

Gloria laughed, “I’m glad! I love classical music. It’s too bad I’m not good at playing any instruments.”

Bede, the one who initially greeted her, shrugged, “Clearly you don’t have to be good at playing to still enjoy it.”

Marnie smirked at him, “I think you were enjoyin’ a bit more thn’ jus’ the song, don’t you?”

Bede shot a glare at her, “Well of course I was watching the performance—”

“Anyway, good luck to ya later, mate,” Piers gave her a thumbs up, “I’d recommend you spend this time warming up.”

Gloria nodded, “That’s true. I’m not out of the ballpark yet.”

“What? Do you have another act later?” Bede asked, confused.

“I can’t tell you,” Gloria smiled, “It’s a surprise!”

Bede raised an eyebrow, “Um… okay then…”

“Anyway, see you out there, Bede! I wish you and Opal good luck on your performance tonight!” she grinned at him and waved as she stepped into the locker room and out of sight.

“Right… I almost forgot about that…” he grimaced.

The rest of the festival was a blast. After the gym challengers were done with their parade, Milo came out and showed off his grass type Pokémon with a lovely performance that demonstrated his strength. Nessa, of course, showed off the beauty of her water type Pokémon, since she also happened to be a model, and the other gym leaders followed suit.

For Opal and Bede’s performance, they focused on the elegance of fairy types. It was Opal’s decision of course—Bede would never have purposefully designed an act relying so heavily on his own charisma. The girls in the audience, however, seemed to heavily enjoy the fan service, despite his personal distaste.

Marnie and Piers provided the audience with a performance that focused on showing off the raw power dark types held within themselves. It was also designed to resonate with the teenage audience, as they used a creepier, macabre style for all of their movesets.

After Leon’s Pokémon demonstration (and self-plugin for the battle tower), he announced that the festival was finally coming to an end.

“We appreciate all those who attended the activities provided during the day, and of course those here the festival. Tonight has been AMAZING! And I encourage all of you to come back again next year,” the crowd roared in happy cheering, “But! Before I close this festival, the Maximizers have one last special song for all of you!”

An electric guitar flared out of the speakers as the Maximizers rose from the stage, “This time, they’ll be accompanied by a few special guests! Give another warm welcome to the musical sibling duo, our beloved gym leaders, MARNIE AND PIEEERS!”

Everyone went hysterical. The idea of a famous band tag-teaming with the musical might of Piers and his sister was a phenomenal idea. Many were shocked they hadn’t done something like this before.

The stadium erupt to life with fast-paced music, and many started singing along to the words being displayed on the screens above.

Out on the sidelines, Bede was laughing, “I can’t believe I didn’t see this coming! Of course those two would do something like this to crash the festival.”

“I think it’ll be the highlight of the day,” Opal commented, in a much better mood than she was that morning.

The song was a wild hit. Marnie and Piers traded off on the vocals with each verse. The entire song was filled with intense energy as the crowd cheered along.

_…I’ll take it to the top_

_Shower me in vic-to-ry_

_No friend or foe can change my ways_

_I’ll rip it down, I’ll shout it out_

_Without a single hint of doubt_

_I’ll take the throne_

_One day I’ll own_

_This very region!_

The words to their song, _Anthem of the Challenger_ rang through everyone’s hearts with insane vigor. However, when the third verse started, suddenly the Maximizers’ energy pulled back and the singing paused.

_“But should I faaaall~”_

Bede sat up quickly.

“I know that voice,” he muttered, his gaze fixated on the band. Suddenly, a platform began to rise up from under the stage.

_“And my foes should take the reins~_

_“I still won’t halt—for no one can stop my desire!_

_“I will succeed!”_

The crowd repeated, _“I will succeed!”_

_“I will succeed!”_

Again, they repeated, _“I will succeed!”_

_“I will not bend, I will not break, this world is mine to take!”_

Bede’s eyes widened. Gloria rose from the platform and stood in front of the Maximizers with a mic in hand. Her voice matched theirs perfectly. It flowed and rippled through everyone’s ears, and sent chills down the spine of every challenger, gym leader, and attendee.

It was mind-blowing.

“She can bloody sing,” Bede whispered incredulously, “As soon as I think I know everything, she blows my mind again.”

The song chorused through the stadium for what felt like an eternity. To Bede, it was all happening in slow-motion. The crowd’s excited fists pumping into the air, the intense downwind blowing into the stadium from the roof, even the fast-moving fingers of the guitarists—it all faded away, leaving only Gloria left in his vision. He watched intently as she straightened her posture, flicked her hair, and twisted her dress to the flow of the music. Her lips moved in perfect sync with the song, and he could see the hidden intensity behind her gaze as she focused on the performance.

Then, the musicians struck a note with the electric guitar, and as it rang, the song finally came to a close. Bede clapped, but he found himself so struck with awe, that he didn’t have the strength to stand from his seat.

Gloria bowed, lifted her arms towards the sky, and took in the energy of the audience as they chanted her name. Piers and Marnie smiled and waved also as the audience screamed their names just as loudly.

To no one’s surprise, the show was a massive success.

* * *

Hop watched the festival from the comforts of his empty workplace—the Pokémon research center in Wedgehurst. The other day, Sonia told him he could have the day off since she was going to be at the festival helping. Leon had informed her the night before that Hop had gotten in a bit of trouble, and likely wouldn’t be returning to Wyndon to watch it live. After Gloria’s performance, he really regretted his decision.

“I can’t believe I never knew this side of her…” he whispered, watching her as she waved to the audience on TV.

She did a fantastic job. Nobody knew she was a good singer—the whole event was truly something people wouldn’t forget. Hop knew it for himself, too.

He sighed, “If only I could properly apologize to her for the other day…”

He sat still for a moment, spun his chair around in a few bored circles, and then rested his head on his desk bitterly. Despite the fact that he wasn’t required to work, he found that the lab was the only other location he cared to visit. Around him, his Pokémon were enjoying their day off—sleeping, playing, some watching the TV. They looked a lot happier than he was.

The room went quiet as Hop lay on his desk. After a few seconds of silence, his phone started ringing.

“Hello, this is Hop.”

“Hey Hop!” it was Sonia, “Having fun at home?”

“Uh… yeah. Lots of fun,” he answered unenthusiastically.

“You sound bored to me,” she commented.

“Huh? Oh—not at all…”

He could hear practically her roll her eyes, “Do you want to come to the festival instead?”

“Why? It’s already over.”

“You could talk to Gloria, finally.”

He paused, “Why do you care if I come or not anyway?”

“We need helpers to clean things up…” Sonia pleaded, “Macro Cosmos is understaffed—a lot of people went on holiday after the league ended, so we’re asking for volunteers.”

Hop groaned.

“Hey! It’s not like _you’re_ doing anything, anyway.”

“I just don’t want to fly there and back again.”

“Oh don’t worry about it—flights are a lot faster than yesterday. The festival wasn’t NEARLY as packed as the Pokémon league was.”

“True…”

“So… mind lending me another hand? I’ll make it up to you somehow.”

Hop sat up, “You’ll give me a raise!?”

“What? No. I was thinking more like—dinner, or something.”

He frowned, “That’s underwhelming.”

“Hooop,” she whined, “Leon wants you here too.”

“That’s nice,” he mumbled, picking at a sticky spot on the table.

“Leon says he’s going to tell your mum if you don’t help.”

Hop groaned, “Seriously!?” he paused, “Fine—but I’m not happy about this.”

Sonia clapped her hands together, “Great! See you there, Hop!”

“Right…”

“Bye!”

“See ya,” Hop hung up the phone, “Golly… I just came back from Wyndon, and she’s making me go there _again…_ ”

But frankly, he didn’t have anything else to do, so he grabbed a taxi and left anyway.

* * *

After about an hour, the stadium had been completely cleared out. Gloria was helping to clean up some of the clutter in the front lobby at the time, since the staff was lacking numbers. In her hands she carried a large bag of trash, and slowly, she made her way towards the dumpster on the side. With a huff, she lifted the lid and dropped it inside with a thud.

“Well that’s that,” she mused.

She looked around. Almost everyone had gone home at this point. All the streets around were empty, except for a few people lingering for signatures or whatever else. She wondered how they could stand waiting outside when the air was so frigid. She shivered, rushed into the lobby, and sighed as she rubbed her bare arms with her palms.

“I need my jacket…”

Gloria walked across the room and entered a door that led out onto the field. Once again, she was greeted by the freezing evening air, but luckily her jacket was lying on a bench not too far away. She slipped it on and a wave of warmth fell across her. With a sigh, she sat down and watched the staff members as they diligently searched for trash. A few thoughts entered her mind as she sat there.

Her performance played back through her head. She saw herself in the center of the field, Piers to her left, Marnie to her right, as she sang out the deepest feelings of her soul. Her heartbeat had scampered frantically at a dangerous pulse—the same as if she was being chased by some monster.

 _Don’t mess up. Don’t mess up._ she had thought, _Not with everyone watching._

Gloria closed her eyes and again, the blurred faces of the crowd returned. She wondered, in that moment, of who might’ve been in that crowd. The next champion? Maybe someone she once knew? Gloria paused.

_No… never dwell in the past, Gloria. That’s a bad place to go._

Her mind went back to the crowd and suddenly she wondered if Hop had been there. Her face reddened a tiny bit as guilt flowed once again into her system. She could see his yellow eyes watching her as she swept across the field, but she had no idea if there was a smile on his face, or if he was disappointed in her. Gloria clutched at her heart and lowered her head slightly.

_What’s the matter with me? I can’t think straight at all, these days._

“Hey,” a familiar voice floated into her ears.

She looked up, “Bede.”

They stared at each other for a moment.

“Um…” Bede rubbed his neck, feeling a bit awkward, “So… you alright? You seem a bit gutted.”

“I’m okay,” Gloria sighed, “I just can’t believe it’s all over… you know?”

Bede smiled, “Yeah. Strange eh?” he paused, “May I sit down with you?”

Gloria’s smile returned to her face as relief crept into her heart, “Sure.”

Bede sat down, and Gloria immediately started to relax again. Bede and Gloria had a rather interesting relationship. In the beginning, they loathed each other. Bede hated that Gloria was so strong, and Gloria hated Bede because of his sour attitude. Every time since their first meeting at the registration desk in Motostoke, Gloria and Bede would send murderous glares at each other.

Bede was intimidating mostly for his angled eyes and above-average height, but Gloria was intimidating for a much different reason. Back then, she frequently held a hostile, yet emotion-lacking look in her eyes that chilled many of her early fans. Bede was bold, rude, and had a knack for taunting people, while Gloria was cold, quiet, and somewhat merciless.

Their rivalry remained until the following Pokémon league. When Bede challenged Gloria again, as a gym leader, there was a much different feeling in the air. After hearing Bede’s spiel about quitting as a gym leader, and feeling overwhelmed about the new attention he was receiving, Gloria started to feel a little sympathetic for him. When they came together to shake hands, as all matches required, Gloria had a smile on her face that rattled Bede to his very core. Gloria told him that she was proud of him, and since that moment, Bede felt a strong desire to finally form a camaraderie between the two of them.

Since then, Marnie, Bede, and Gloria had hung out a fair bit. They attended multiple festivals and parties together, and spent nearly every weekend dining out or getting drinks. Though Gloria was disappointed Hop never got participate in most of those good memories, she was glad that Bede could become a close friend in his stead.

This made it so that when Bede sat next to her, Gloria didn’t feel any sort of tension at all.

“You seem a bit down,” Bede mused, “Are you disappointed in your performance?”

Bede hesitated, _Oh gosh—that had a bit of a negative connotation. I hope she doesn’t think I didn’t like it…_

“No! No…” Gloria laughed, “I’m not the self-depreciating type. Why… was it not good?”

Bede waved his hands, a bit panicked, “No! I’m sorry—that sounded bad… I was just worried about you.”

Gloria smiled cheekily, “Worried? That’s a new one. Do you like me or something?”

Bede’s face dropped in annoyance, used to her frequent taunts, “This is what I get for being nice…”

She laughed wholeheartedly as Bede hid a tiny smile on his face.

“Anyway—I’m not upset or anything. Thank you for worrying, but honestly I’m just tired.”

“I bet. Getting out in front of people can really take the wind out of you.”

“Yeah,” she smiled warmly, “So what have you been doing?”

“Me?” he thought for a moment, “Um… not much. Cleaning and stuff, mostly. These staff people really put you to work.”

“SPEAKING of work,” a voice over them boomed suddenly, and their heads whipped around to see Leon standing there shaking his head, “I thought I told you, Bede, that if I catch you slacking off again I was going to double your workload.”

“I’m working—I’m working! Shut-up!” Bede jumped up and grabbed a broom.

“Oi! What’re you going to do with that—sweep the grass?”

Bede glared at him and leapt up into the bleachers to start collecting more trash.

“What’d you scare him off for?” Gloria asked, laughing.

“Opal wanted me to babysit him,” he sighed, shaking his head, “She had to leave early because she was feeling overworked, but she still wanted Bede to help out. She probably thinks hard work’ll fix his scrawniness, but frankly I think he’s a lost cause,” Leon snickered.

Gloria rolled her eyes, “Are you going to put me to work, too?”

“ _You?_ ” he laughed, “You’re the champion. I can’t tell you to do anything.”

She sighed, “I guess if you put it that way… I still want to help out though. By the way, is Hop here?”

“I’m pretty sure he stayed home, but who knows? I never know where he is these days…” Leon looked up, suddenly realizing something, “Oh yeah—are you looking for him because of yesterday night?”

“What?” Gloria blinked, “Y-yesterday night? What about it?”

“I thought you were the one who broke up the fight between Bede and my brother.”

“Oh… that’s right,” she laughed awkwardly, “Yeah… I wanted to know more about that, but he left so quickly…”

Leon smirked, “That’s all, hm?”

Gloria stared at him intensely, worried if he somehow knew more, “Yes.”

“Okay. See you later, champ.”

“See you…” Gloria covered her mouth nervously, hoping Leon didn’t know more than he was supposed to.

After Leon was gone, she went back into the main entryway to look for something to do. On the way there, she noticed Sonia was patronizing someone out of her view.

“…it’s probably good you didn’t show up though, judging the state of your face. You look like you were just in a gang fight or something.”

“Shut-up…” the other person muttered bitterly.

Gloria approached from behind, unaware of who Sonia was chatting with, “Sonia, is there any work to be done around here?”

Sonia turned around, “Eh? Why’re you asking me? I haven’t got a clue what sort of stuff you should be doing.”

“I don’t know who’s in charge…”

“Oh. In that case, I _can_ help with that,” she pointed to a Macro Cosmos member who was dressed a little more formally than the general staff, “That man over there—Mr. Oswell. He can give you a job.”

Gloria nodded, “Thank you Sonia! I’ll be off then.”

“Wait—Gloria, hold on a second!” the other person grabbed her shoulder, and she was shocked to find the person was actually Hop.

“Hop? I didn’t think you came.”

“I didn’t… I just showed up to help tidy things up,” Hop paused for a moment, “Uh… Gloria, can we talk about yesterday?”

She froze, “I… I suppose?”

Sonia nodded, “That’s fine with me. Go clear things up, you two. I already know what this is about.”

Gloria directed her gaze downward as she and Hop walked off to a nearby room to chat. How many people knew about yesterday? And… how much _did_ they know?”


	7. Memory Six - The Fall of the Champion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gloria finally manages to get Bede and Hop to properly apologize to each other for fighting at the station. While in the middle of talking, however, she receives an alarming phone call from Raihan that something horrible has happened at the Hammerlocke powerplant. Though confident she can handle the situation, Gloria never steps back out of this powerplant; and a few hours later, Hop and Bede are horrified to find out what became of her.

Gloria closed the sliding door to the side room she and Hop chose to enter, “Alright Hop. What’s this about?”

Hop sighed, “I wanted to apologize for making a scene yesterday…”

Gloria shook her head, “Then apologize to Bede—not me.”

Hop grimaced, already aware, “I know… I’ll get around to that…”

There was a tense pause between the two.

“What else?” Gloria asked.

“Uh… I figured you wanted to say something to me.”

Gloria hesitated, “I suppose I’ve been wanting to apologize for shoving you onto the train.”

“Ah… that’s right…” he muttered.

“And…” Gloria sucked in a sharp breath, “Hop—when-I-kissed-you-I-promise-it-wasn’t because-I-liked-you—it’s just because I had a lot of things on my mind and I just didn’t know what to do because I haven’t seen you in a while. I just knew that I didn’t want to lose you again… I mean—I didn’t want to go another six months without hearing from you! I miss you—I really do…”

Hop smiled, looking slightly hurt, “Yeah… about that—I’m sorry I haven’t spoken to you… I don’t know what was wrong with me. I was being stupid… I just couldn’t handle you becoming the champion, I guess…”

Gloria laughed, “Me too.”

They both sighed awkwardly.

“Glad that’s out of the way…” Gloria added.

Hop nodded.

There was a knock on the door.

“Oi—I’m finished with my work for now. You still up for a chat?” it was Bede.

“Actually,” Gloria opened the door, “I think you two need to have a talk.”

Hop and Bede stared at each other for a good few seconds.

“Seriously?” Bede glowered at her.

Gloria just smiled happily, “I won’t be satisfied until I hear both of you report back to me that you’ve successfully made up with each other, and want to be friends.”

Hop’s jaw dropped in disgust, and Bede frustratedly rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. Neither of them liked her idea.

“You’re joking. You’re _actually_ joking…” Bede kept shaking his head in denial, “I’m leaving.”

He started to walk away, but Hop stopped him, “Wait—Bede… I think she has a point…”

Bede turned back around, arms crossed, “Fine… let’s get this over with then.”

They both glanced at Gloria, who was giving them a very intense and expectant smile.

Bede cleared his throat, “Hop,” he started, “I’m sorry for my rudeness yesterday. I’m an adult—I shouldn’t have been so quick to retaliate,” he bowed slightly, surprising Hop with his gentlemanly attitude, “I shouldn’t have assumed we were immediately friends—especially since we’ve never actually gotten along.”

Hop sighed, “You know… it’s okay… I think I’m more to blame here. I was angry about something else that night, and I took it out on you. I suppose I just _really badly_ wanted you to still be the brat I once knew so I could vent off on you—so it frustrated me when I found out you weren’t like that anymore.”

“Thanks?” Bede wasn’t sure how to take his statement, but he let it slide regardless.

“Point is…” Hop rolled his eyes, sucked in a deep breath, and mustered, “I‘m sorry…”

Hop looked like he wanted to gouge his tongue out, but at least Bede was satisfied.

“Good enough. I don’t mind either way. Just as long as we don’t resort to a fist fight next time.” he quieted his voice, “(Especially since my injuries almost put me out of the festival… though I’m not particularly bummed about that.)”

Gloria sighed, relieved they could verbally make-up with each other, “Aaaah… That puts a load off my mind! I was worried you two would be salty forever…”

“I’ll _always_ be salty,” Bede defended.

Gloria laughed, and the humor lightened the mood a bit. Hop even smiled a bit—though still cautious.

“Oh—speaking of injuries, you’re not going to sue me or anything… right?”

Bede glanced at him from the side, “Hmm… I wonder.”

Shocked, Hop stammered, “A-ah! Please don’t—I promise I’ll never do this again—”

“I’m joking,” he grinned and stuck out his hand, “I’m not a brat anymore, just like you said. I’ll be salty forever, but salty is better than being a brat.”

Hop blinked, stunned that Bede was so quick to forgive him, “Oh. I… I don’t know what to say…”

They shook hands and Gloria clapped hers together joyously, “Wooo! Celebration time!” she laughed.

“Though—how did you fix up your face so fast?” Hop asked suddenly, “I had to get a bunch of bandages and come up with some wicked excuse so my mum wouldn’t kill me…”

Bede hesitated, “Opal has a make-up specialist.”

“Yeah but there’s not even a trace of anything left—”

“She’s VERY GOOD,” he injected before Gloria brought up her secret visit. For some reason he didn’t want Hop to know about that.

“Okay! Sorry I asked,” Hop backed up, not wanting starting another fight.

“Anyways,” Gloria smiled happily and took both of their hands, making them both blush, “Let’s celebrate this over dinner, shall we? We can invite Marnie too, if you’d like!”

“Gloria—you treated us yesterday! Why don’t _I_ pick something out this time—I’m tired of owing you favors!” Bede argued, still flustered that Gloria was holding his hand.

“Alright, alright—if you _really_ want to, you can pi—” Gloria’s phone suddenly started ringing, “Huh? Who’s this?”

She answered with a sweet: “Hello~ this is Champion Gloria! What’s up?”

“Gloria! Oh thank Arceus you picked up—LISTEN! We’ve got a situation over here at the Hammerlocke powerplant, and we need you here RIGHT NOW!”

Shocked, she responded again, but with more urgency: “Wait—who is this?”

“Ah! Sorry—this is Raihan. I’m outside of the Hammerlocke powerplant and we’ve got a BAD situation. Some shady guys are hiding out down there with dangerous Pokémon, and they’ve been messing with the power! We don’t know what they want—but all I know, is that we sent Leon down there and he hasn’t come back. The police are being reluctant about getting people involved, so I went ahead and called you because it’s STUPID not to at this point! Please come over ASAP—I’m heading in myself—I can’t wait any longer, I have to find Leon!”

“Wait—Raihan hold up! I’m coming—don’t do anything stupid okay?”

“I’m sorry Gloria—I’m already in. Just come and we’ll meet up inside, ‘kay? Hurry!”

“No, no, no—that’s bad—Raihan! Don’t hang up—”

There was a beep, Gloria was left with nothing but a dial tone.

“Crap. Guys, I’ll have to put a raincheck on that dinner date.”

“Why? What’s wrong?” Hop asked.

Gloria spun to face him, but hesitated. _If I tell him Leon’s missing, he might try and do something foolish again… I don’t know how much he’s changed within these two years, but based on his impulsive behavior yesterday, I’ll have to refrain from telling him the full truth for now._

“Just an out-of-control Dynamax Pokémon at Hammerlocke,” she smiled somehow, but her face was pale, and her mouth a bit crooked, “Don’t worry about it! I’ll go take care of it and run back to see you guys as soon as I can—okay?”

“Alright…” Hop sighed, “What bad timing, am I right?”

Bede stared at Gloria. He recognized her look better than Hop did. He could tell there was a hidden panic hiding behind her face, which meant that whatever was happening at Hammerlocke was certainly MUCH more pressing than a mere loose Dynamax Pokémon.

“Go ahead, Gloria. I can see the matter is quite pressing.” he nodded understandingly.

She smiled, “Thanks Bede. I’ll see you two later.”

And instantly, she ran off towards the exit to meet up with her taxi.

* * *

Gloria arrived at the front entrance to the powerplant within fifteen minutes. Caution tape was blocking onlookers from passing into the entrance to the stadium, but as soon as Gloria arrived on the scene, they allowed her to pass through.

“Gloria!” the rock-type gym leader, Gordie, pointed at her, drawing the attention of two other gym leaders standing nearby.

“I’m here—what can I do?” Gloria asked, alarmed.

Gordie, Bea, and Circhester’s alternate gym leader, Melony, rushed up to greet the Champion.

“My dear! Oh thank goodness you came—we really should’ve called you sooner!” Melony exclaimed, her voice rushed as she greeted Gloria.

“I know—I’m here now. Where’s Raihan?” Gloria asked, desperately searching for him after hearing his call.

“That fool ran in on his own. Since he called you, we figured we’d wait to rescue him until you showed up.” Bea shook her head, “Such a dumb decision… if Leon hasn’t made it out, what makes him think _he_ can?”

“Point is—we need you to come in with us! I think if we all go together we’ll have a better chance of figuring out what’s in there!” Gordie interjected hurriedly.

“Right, then we don’t have time to waste! Let’s go!”

Gloria rushed into the elevator, accompanied by Melony, Bea, and Gordie. After a moment’s pause for the door to close, the group began to ascend to the powerplant’s second floor.

On the way up, Gloria mumbled, “I wonder how many times I’ll have to fight some villain in this attic…?”

Melony chuckled, but everyone else was too unnerved to laugh.

When the doors opened, a roll of purple fog flooded into their faces.

“Woah—this is some intense fog… where did this come from?” Bea glanced around cautiously.

Gloria faced them, “Everyone, get out a Pokémon and keep it with you at all times. We need to stay safe.”

As directed, Bea brought out her Machoke, Gordie brought out his Barbaracle, and Melony brought out her Frosmoth. Gloria took out her Orbeetle, in hopes she could use its psychic abilities to navigate the powerplant.

They approached the landing in front of them which was surrounded by great glass light bulbs, all of which had been turned off. On the right was a stairway plunging deep into the fog.

“I have a feeling whatever awaits us is down those stairs,” Gloria narrowed her eyes and an intense seriousness entered her tone.

Her heartbeat quickened as she stepped downstairs. Something in her head was screaming for her to flee—a fear more intense than the terror any foe had ever given her. Her spine was rippling with streams of adrenaline, and her skin puckered. Her entire body was rejecting the idea of continuing, yet she chose to traverse onward.

_This is bad—something doesn’t feel right._

She glanced over her shoulder as her heart pounded harshly in her head, ears and veins. Everyone was still behind her.

_Okay good… they’re still with me._

When they touched the bottom, it was extremely dark.

“Hard to see down here…” Gordie spoke suddenly, startling Gloria a bit.

“Stay together. Whatever we do, we can’t get separated.”

A chill crawled up her veins, and suddenly the purple fog was familiar to her. The scent in the air was pungent with anesthetic, and the temperature of the room felt unnervingly natural to her. She blinked, and a memory darted across her vision.

There was a tall scientist, and a yellow Pokémon. Sterile beds were strewn about the room, and she was lying across one—no… tied down to one. In the distance, a chilling voice taunted her ears, and a pale pair of eyes passed over her disinterestedly. They belonged to her father.

Her wretched, wretched father.

 _NO!_ she shook her head angrily and squeezed her eyes shut, _I refuse to remember! Forget it all, dang it! There’s no way they could be here anywa—_

There was a yell in the distance—no… a scream! Bea’s voice was curling through the air and stabbing into her eardrums like a screeching serpent. The sound of it cut into her intestines like a dagger, immediately freeing her of her own mind. She had never heard Bea scream before—let alone raise her voice. She was always the calm and quiet one, yet now—

Gloria spun behind her, suddenly realizing she was alone.

“What!? Where did they go!?”

Instinctively, she released two more of her Pokémon—her Ninetales, Ember, and her Alcremie, Guii.

“Orbeetle—find that scream! Use your Psychic to locate it—”

“I DON’T WANT TO REMEMBER!”

Gloria’s eyes widened—dumbstruck. For a moment she thought her thoughts had just manifested out loud, but it was Bea’s voice again. The sound of it almost paralyzed her limbs, but somehow she was able to press onward.

Gloria pointed, “That way!” and her Pokémon joined her as she ran to the voice—Alcremie jumping daintily onto her shoulder.

As she ran, she saw a Pokémon in the darkness. It was a Zoroark—something she hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Guii! Hit it with Dazzling Gleam—now!”

Guii emitted a massively bright flash that lit up the fog and reflected back into Gloria’s eyes—blinding her temporarily. In the midst of the blindness, Zoroark was slammed hard backwards, and fell to the ground with a deafening THUD. Next to its unconscious body was Bea and her Machoke—both of them lying silently on the metal tile.

“Bea!” Gloria rushed over, terrified, and began to shake her, “Wake up—please!” her heartbeat drummed against her skull like a jackhammer.

In her moment of hysteria, her Ninetales suddenly placed a paw on Gloria’s back. Shocked, she looked up. He had a calm, collected look on his face, while Gloria had scared tears collecting in her eyes.

“Ember…” she took in a deep breath, “Calm down Gloria—get a grip!”

She checked for a pulse, and sure enough, Bea was breathing just fine.

“Hey!” a voice called.

Gloria jolted, and whipped around in time to see Gordie running towards her.

“Gordie! Thank goodness… how did you know where I was?”

“It was that Alcremie of yours! That light was so powerful, it cleared off some of this dastardly fog. Good thing too—I was completely lost…”

Gloria looked around, realizing he was correct. There was significantly less fog than previously.

“Oh no—what’s wrong with Bea!?” Gordie shouted in alarm, and rushed over to her side.

“She’s fine… don’t worry. Her breathing is normal, as far as I can tell, and my Pokémon aren’t worried either. They can sense when someone is in danger, so I’m assuming this means Bea is okay.”

“Oh? Thank goodness… that scream was heart-wrenching… I feel so sorry for her.”

“Yeah… I wonder what it was about,” Gloria paused, glancing at the unconscious Zoroark, “Although if I think about it, that Zoroark there is probably what got her.”

“Zoroark?” Gordie looked at the unconscious Pokémon, “What do you think it did to her?”

“Zoroark is an illusion Pokémon from the Unova region. Perhaps it took the form of a bad memory—judged on what she said.”

“That’s possible?” Gordie’s eyes widened with shock, “Scary…”

“Yeah… anyway, keep an eye on her. Since some of the fog is gone, I’m going to look deeper. We still need to find Melony, Leon, and Raihan.”

“Right. I’ll stay here and make sure nothing gets Bea. I can do that much, I think.”

Gloria nodded, entrusting Bea to him, and headed farther into the room. Occasionally she ran into a ghost type Pokémon, but other than that, the air was eerily quiet.

“This is the edge of the room… Orbeetle, do you see any compartments or spots I may have missed?”

Orbeetle stared off into the distance, its eyes locked firmly on something. It let out a low, hostile chirp, alarming Gloria that something was lurking in the darkness.

“Another Pokémon?”

It shook its head no.

“A person!?” her eyes widened.

Yes.

“Let’s go! But—stay quiet. If we sneak up on them, we might finally get some answers.”

As she advanced back into the center of the room, she approached a man. He wore a dark coat and had two Litwick next to him, along with a Mismagius, and a Banette. Gloria hid behind one of the pillars in the room and waited. She couldn’t make out his words, but something about his appearance was familiar—specifically a dark sash tied around the top of his arm. After a moment, he excused his Pokémon, and they went off—possibly to search for Gloria or the others.

“NOW!” she whispered sharply to Orbeetle, “Catch him with Psychic!”

Orbeetle buzzed, and the man was stolen into the air from Orbeetle’s powerful psychic energy.

“What the—”

Gloria stepped out of the darkness.

The man’s eyes widened, “YOU.”

“Slam him to the ground.”

The man went from hovering in mid-air to being pinned on the floor within seconds.

Gloria put her foot on the man’s chest, “You have five seconds to tell me where you took Leon and the others before I start breaking your ribs.” she snapped furiously.

“Me? HA! Listen you CHILD, you might scare the ten year-olds in this region, but you can’t intimidate a grown man with a white lie like that.”

His tone of voice surprised her for a moment, but not because he was intimidating. There was a curious accent to his vowels that matched her own. This man was undoubtedly from Unova.

Gloria increased the pressure of her foot, “Well you’re right about one thing—I’m not a very intimidating person, am I?”

After pausing for a moment to let her words sink in, she pulled a white container out of her backpack. It was a lens case—a curious item to withdraw when she currently had a full-grown adult pressed under her foot.

“What are you doing?” he grumbled, eyeing the case suspiciously.

_If this man is who I think he is—and I hope he isn’t, then it’s likely he’ll recognize me if I take out my brown lenses._

She removed the lenses casually from her irises, and then snapped her case shut. When it was put away, she turned back to his face again, and her eyes were an intense shade of sterling silver. Suddenly her gaze was sharp and precise—reminiscent of the blade of a scalpel. She bent over and looked directly into the man’s eyes.

“Look at me.”

She maximized the pressure of her foot on his chest, and could feel his heartbeat accelerate.

“You’re terrified. After all, I’m the strongest trainer in the Galar region—but I believe you know me from somewhere else, don’t you? How long do you think you can defy my words?” she glanced at Alcremie, who shuddered in fear, “Use Draining Kiss.”

Guii leapt off Gloria’s shoulder and landed on the man’s chest after Gloria removed her foot. Guii began to glow—first a light green colour, then a bright pink, and then a deep shade of red. As soon as she glowed red, the man screamed.

“ALRIGHT—STOP!”

“No. Tell me where they are.”

Gloria’s heartbeat got more and more rapid with each decision she made. Despite the coldness in her eyes, Gloria was terrified. The person before her was living proof that someone she knew—someone terrible and dangerous, might’ve finally returned after all this time.

“There’s a hidden room,” the man croaked, “He’s keeping them there…”

“WHO.”

“Professor—” he gasped, “Professor Flanders!”

Her heart stopped.

“Professor… Flanders?”

She looked down at him with a sudden, empty gaze. All her humanity and kindness that she’d worked so hard to rebuild since moving to Galar, suddenly left her in an instant. She remembered all the pain and suffering—the blaming, the promising, and of course the “tests”. Happiness and colour drained away from her face, and was replaced with a stinging guilt that overwhelmed her senses and turned her, once again, into a soulless creature of despair.

_I remember now._

* * *

Bede and Hop stood silently next to each other on the landing in the powerplant. The lights had been returned to full power, and the purple fog had been cleared out, but the place had been trashed. Miscellaneous members of the mysterious villain’s team were scattered about, unconscious. Everyone in the room was nervously waiting for the police to find all the gym leaders that had entered.

“Anything yet?” Hop asked an investigator.

“Nothing… I’m sorry.”

Bede looked down—not just worried about Gloria, but everyone else as well.

Suddenly, a yell penetrated the echoey room: “OVER HERE!”

Shocked, the officers ran down the stairs while Bede and Hop watched over the edge of the landing.

“That’s Gordie!” Hop pointed, surprised.

“Yeah—you’re right.”

The officers were shocked when Gordie suddenly limped through the solid wall, with Bea unconscious on his back.

“This wall is an illusion!” Gordie announced, “W-we’re all back here!” he wheezed, falling to his knees.

Bede and Hop rushed down the flight of stairs to see Gordie. The police passed Gordie and entered the room, while medical professionals tended to Gordie and Bea’s injuries. He didn’t have many, and neither did Bea—but they had both been drained of energy and needed time to recover.

“Gordie!” Hop shouted frantically, “Where’s Leon!?”

He pointed into the room, “Like I said—they’re all in there.”

Hop ran inside, Bede not far behind. Just as promised, Leon lay on the ground next to Raihan and Melony—both of whom _were_ conscious, and sitting upright, but were too exhausted to move. Leon was fully unconscious, however, and Gloria was nowhere to be found.

Hop knelt next to his brother, “Leon—” he choked, relieved to find him, but scared that he wasn’t conscious.

“Careful, Hop—he got the worst injuries out of all of us.” Melony warned softly.

“Mind his leg,” Raihan added, shuddering as he stared at his feet, “I was there when they broke it.”

Hop jolted up in alarm, “Broke…? As in—”

“I don’t want to remember it,” Raihan shook his head, “You can’t forget that—that horrible SOUND, once you hear it…”

“Right… sorry—we’ll dodge that,” Bede interrupted, “Anyone found Gloria though?”

Melony shook her head, “I don’t remember anything but noises until I woke up here. One of them was the explosion.”

“That’s right… I almost forgot,” Bede remembered, not to fondly, that when they arrived an hour after Gloria, there was a loud explosion moments before they entered the plant.

Sonia stood near the entrance of the room, looking silently down at Leon, “Speaking of which, where did that explosion come from?”

“You guys asking about the explosion?” Gordie piped up as he heard Sonia’s question.

“Yes. Where did it go off?” Bede asked again, impatiently.

“I dunno _exactly_ where, but I heard it back in the main room—the one just outside this this fake wall. Though—it seemed a bit far… like it was at the very edge.”

 _The edge? But there aren’t any singe marks anywhere in the main room that show there was an explosion…_ Bede wondered.

“That’s strange… I don’t see any indications of an explosion,” he paused thoughtfully, “Do you think… Gloria was there? When the explosion happened, I mean. I don’t want to think about it, but if we find where the damage happened…” his voice trailed off.

Everyone’s faces went pale.

“I… I don’t want to think about that…” Hop whispered, trembling next to Leon.

There was a long guilty pause between everyone as they envisioned the worst.

Just as they had fallen silent, however, Leon stirred.

“Huh? Leon?” Hop whipped his head back to his brother again.

“Ugh… what the heck happened?” Leon blinked slowly, “Where am I?”

“Oh thank goodness!” Melony sighed and placed a hand on her chest.

“He’s up!” Gordie stood up slowly, his whole body trembling with the effort.

“Oi… careful—don’t overexert yourself…” Bea whispered, tugging on his shoe from her spot on the floor.

“AH! You’re awake too!?” Gordie almost lost his balance, but caught himself by putting his hand on the wall.

“Easy, easy!” Melony said, coaxing him to sit back down carefully.

During this slight chaos, Hop teared up a little bit as he held his brother’s hand, “I-I almost thought I’d lost you, brother! I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t have woken up—” he sniffed loudly.

“Oi… calm down, buddy… I’m good! I think…? My head hurts though…”

Medical personnel rushed to his aid and started asking him questions. He explained his head hurt, he had double vision, and he couldn’t move his right leg (though he didn’t know that was because it was broken).

“Do we have to leave in the ambulance if we’re injured?” Gordie asked, “Because I’d like to stay a bit longer—especially if I can help find Gloria at all.”

Gordie and the doctors spoke to each other while Bede stood back and observed.

“Figured anythin’ out yet?” Bede glanced over and noticed Marnie had finally come in and joined the crowd. Piers was standing just outside the room, looking in quietly at the chaos.

“No. But I have a suspicion…” Bede’s eyes returned to the walls of the main room, “If _this_ room was disguised with an illusion, it’s possible the explosion was in a disguised room too. Don’t you think?”

“And ya think Gloria’ll be in there?”

He hesitated, biting his lip, “It’s possible… but I don’t want to think about it too much. She could be just fine, for all we know…”

As the nurses loaded Leon onto a stretcher, Hop finally stood up and joined Bede and Marnie—still sniffling with emotion.

“Hop…” Marnie sighed sympathetically, “this must be so hard on you…”

He shook his head, “I’ll be okay now that I know my brother is alive.” he took in a deep breath and let out a long, trembling sigh.

“I’m going to look for more disguised rooms,” Bede said suddenly, and left to go investigate. He’d never been good at dealing with other people’s emotions—especially when they were sad.

As he left, Marnie turned back to face Hop, “Don’t worry about Bede… he’s not great a’ showing it, but he really cares ‘bout Gloria n’ the others. He just tries to be more logical about things the more intense tha’ situation. He could start bawlin’ any minute, honestly.”

“You think so? I never thought he’d be the type to get emotional…” Hop muttered quietly.

She paused, “Well… he’s not! Heck I’ve never seen ‘im cry—but that’s not the point…”

In the meantime, Bede was scanning the walls by himself.

“Crap… I can’t find anything at all… what do I do?” he paused, “How did Gloria find these rooms? Wait— _did_ she find these rooms?”

“Need help?” Gordie walked over and joined him—still a bit shaky, but overall appeared to have recovered.

“Yeah—a question, actually: did Gloria find the hidden room you were all in?”

“She did. It’s where she fought this professor-lookin’ guy. I don’t remember much, but they battled all throughout this place. There was this mythical Pokémon there too, I think…”

“Really? How do you know it was mythical?”

“They said it was,” he shrugged, “but that’s besides the point—I believe Gloria used her psychic Pokémon Orbeetle to detect things like hidden rooms and people. That’s what it looked like while she was wandering in the dark, at least.”

Bede punched his fist triumphantly into his palm, “That’s got to be it! I can do that—Hatterene! Come out and use Psychic!”

Hatterene exited the ball with its standard cry and glanced around curiously, unsure what to use Psychic on.

“Oh—the walls. Look for hidden passages, or anything like that.”

While Hatterene used Psychic, Hop approached Bede to see what he was doing.

“What’re you using Hatterene for?”

“Looking for hidden rooms. I have a feeling that the mysterious explosion we heard is located in one of them.”

Hatterene stopped suddenly and pointed to an empty space on the wall with its long arm.

“Over there?” Hop clarified.

As soon as Bede got the message, he broke into a sprint. Hop yelled after him, shocked by his sudden impulsiveness, but for once, Bede didn’t care. For all he knew, his best friend could be injured—or worse, and he wasn’t going to hesitate.

_It’s right here! It’s got to be!_

He slowed down in front of the wall space and placed his palm on the surface. Just like when Gordie had phased through the wall with Bea, his hand slid through the metal without any resistance.

“Is that the room!?” Hop shouted still catching up.

Behind them, everyone’s attentions had been directed to the two boy’s sudden ruckus. They watched as Bede took a step forward, and after lingering in the doorway for a second, the illusion fizzled away—leaving a charred archway where the illusion once was. Officers and medical personnel immediately started to approach, but Bede insisted to be the first one inside.

The room was huge. The ceiling stretched high, and many of the walls were burnt from the loud explosion they’d heard earlier. There was a thin layer of smoke caking the air in the room, but it wasn’t enough to impair Bede’s vision. He saw before him, a grated floor (which was thoroughly ravaged), and far beneath—maybe six yards down, a cement basement that was exposed to his view. Broken machinery lay scattered around on the bits of floor still standing, and below his feet, he could see a skeleton of broken support beams for their current floor. To his right was a destroyed flight of stairs that led to the basement level.

When he squinted down to see beyond the grate on the bottom floor, his eyes landed on two unconscious people, and six Pokémon all arrayed in an eerie circle.

“No…”

Ignoring the broken stairs, Bede grabbed one of the round, metal poles that previously supported the floor above, and slid down to the ground. It was dangerous, but he managed to land without hurting himself.

Just behind him, Hop did the same. He grabbed the same pole and slid down to the bottom—though he fell onto his rear end clumsily.

 _It’s a lie,_ Bede cursed in his head over and over again, _It’s not her. It can’t be her._

But there was no doubt.

As he neared them, he could see her magenta, buttoned dress and her familiar green hat. There was no one else they could’ve belonged to.

Gloria’s Pokémon were scattered around the room. All of them were unconscious and injured. In the very middle, there was a beam of moonlight streaming down perfectly from a hole in the ceiling. Gloria lay motionless in the center of the white light, next to her an unconscious man in a black lab coat.

“Bede!” Hop gasped, running up to him, “What happened—who is it!? It’s not her—right!? RIGHT!?”

Bede didn’t respond. His eyes trembled as he searched her motionless body, and realized what she was lying in.

“What do you think… Hop?” he answered, his voice empty with shock.

“I—” but Hop cut himself off, and his face drained when he realized what Bede was looking at.

Both the mysterious man and Gloria were lying in a pool of their own blood.


	8. Memory Seven - Returning to a Grey Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To everyone's relief, Champion Gloria survived the incident at Hammerlocke with minimal injuries. A few days after the event, she finally wakes up, and Leon calls her close friends to go see her. However, despite them being worried about her, Gloria furiously turns them away for some unknown reason.

In the corner of his eyes, Bede watched as Hop fell to his knees.

“HELP! SOMEONE—PLEASE HELP!”

His screeches pierced through Bede’s ears, leaving a ringing loop of feedback crashing inside of his head. He blinked, his eyes unmoving and his mouth tightly shut.

His eyes hadn’t moved from Gloria. Even as the nurses shot into the room and loaded her onto a stretcher, his vision remained on the shimmering, scarlet pool that had been left behind. Then Nurse Joy arrived, and each one of Gloria’s Pokémon were tended to. Behind him, as Gloria was being lifted to the top of the platform, Hop was screaming with uncontrollable, agonizing sobs. The sound was so unsettling, Marnie and Piers had to rush in and calm him down.

Bede’s gaze remained unbreakable. He could see his reflection in her blood staring back at him in silent disbelief. Denial repeated across his mind like a broken record, his heartbeat echoing with it in the same, steady cadence. He felt like he was trapped in time—locked in a single moment without any control of his body.

When Hop was mostly under control (but still a mess of tears), Marnie stepped over and looked uncertainly at Bede.

“Bede?”

He didn’t hear her. What he did hear was more of a blurred “b…d…e…?” that he couldn’t process.

“Hello?

“h…l…o…?”

“She has a pulse Bede. They say she’s gonna be okay. Hop calmed down a bit when he learned that.”

“sh…a…s…p…ls………g…na……k……hp…cl…d………tht…”

“We need to get out of here now. Okay? Let’s all go home and try to relax.”

“w………et………k?………hm……x…”

She grabbed his arm softly, “C’mon Bede…”

He didn’t notice her grip around his forearm. His feet moved on their own and his eyes focused on nothing but blurred colours and strings of light. When he and Marnie were able to get a lift back up to the main floor, Marnie finally released his arm for a minute.

Piers eyed him cautiously, still soothing Hop, “Can he even speak? He’s gone completely limp.”

“I know… I don’t know what to do… I think he’s in shock.”

The lights in the room flashed in Bede’s eyes. The room was pulsing and spinning and colours where dripping from the walls and melting into his skin. The room filled with a watery static at such a level he could no longer understand words being spoken. His heartbeat accelerated suddenly and he felt his legs tremble. He felt like he was on a spinning carousel that was moving both left, right, and diagonal. Rather than carousel music, his head played a track of television static, spinning fan blades, and shuffling footsteps. He couldn’t process anything—it was too much.

Finally, since the moment he had seen Gloria, he had a thought that he understood:

_She’s gone._

His knees started to move with the direction of the carousel—which at the time, had suddenly plunged downward into a falling abyss of blackness. His legs joined in the sensation next, and then his entire body. He closed his eyes and the blackness shut out everything left. He fell off the carousel—falling and falling and falling, and… thud.

His mind turned off.

“Let’s try and get these two home… I don’t think either of them can—”

“Woah, woah, woah, WOAH—” Piers pointed to Bede who was swaying dangerously on his feet.

“Oh gosh I think he’s going to faint—Bede! Sit down and put your head between your knees—” she rushed over to catch Bede, but he was long gone.

His knees buckled and he fell to the ground with a shockingly loud, and very echoey THUD.

Everyone in the room spun to see what had just happened, and Gordie rushed over, along with Raihan, and Opal (whom had just arrived).

“Bede! Hey—Bede!” Marnie slapped his cheek a few times, but received no response. Worried, she checked his breathing, and it was normal—thankfully.

“I think he’s okay…” she stuttered, paler than ever.

A doctor rushed over just to make sure, and confirmed he was just unconscious.

“He might have a concussion though—it sounded like he hit his head.”

“I’ll check tomorrow,” Opal sighed, shaking her head with concern.

Marnie looked up at Piers with a puzzled look on her face and wide eyes. Her lower lip was trembling, and her whole body had begun to tense up.

“Oh…” Piers sighed. He knew that face too well. She was about to cry.

Hop, still both dazed and heartbroken, hardly noticed Bede fall to the ground. As Marnie’s bitter sobs entered his ears, however, a dagger-like pain surged through his stomach and gnawed away at his heart.

Sitting on the floor, Hop put his head on his knees, “End my suffering…” he whispered, “I just want to wake up at home and forget about everything.”

* * *

Gloria’s mind swirled with a thousand different images of the past. Just as everything had made sense in the powerplant, it made sense once again in her dreams.

She was back in the Alola region. In her hands was her family photograph—before it had been torn in half by her mother, and on the back of it in neat cursive were her father’s delicate parting words which haunted her even now. She could see a Pokémon reaching out its hand to her as she took in her first breath of life, and by a miracle—she lived onward. A few shady deals later, she lost everything. Her hard work to become the Alolan champion was destroyed. She lost her entire world and had to assume a new identity.

Gloria Verity.

Gloria.

“Gloria!”

Her eyes flew open and she sat up straight. She blinked a few times, but didn’t recognize the room she was lying in.

“Where am I?”

The heart monitor answered her question. A hospital.

“You’re awake!” a nurse rushed over to her aid, “How are you feeling? Can you move?”

Gloria sat up. A surge of pain rushed through her abdomen, and she winced.

“What happened to me?” she asked.

“Well, no one knows for _sure_ , but based on your injuries, I believe you took the full blunt of a shockwave. You’ve been out for the past two days—there was an explosion at the powerplant, and it shattered a few of your ribs. The cuts are from debris.”

“I see.” Gloria remarked, and fell silent.

_That’s right… I remember now._

There was a short pause.

“Wouldn’t you rather lay back down? I’m sure it’s painful to sit upright—”

She looked at the nurse with her cold, grey eyes, and a chill rushed down the nurse’s spine.

“I’ll leave you to recover on your own.” she mumbled, “Call me with that button if you need anything.”

She gestured to a remote nearby and left the room.

* * *

It was two days since the incident at Hammerlocke. All the injured gym leaders had been sent home after a short day of recovery—including Leon, who for the next few months was told to wear a cast on his right leg. Naturally, Leon seized this opportunity to get his hands on a leg scooter (something which he’d always wanted to zoom around on, but didn’t feel like purposefully breaking his leg to obtain).

After being cleared at the hospital, Leon spent his second day at home. As for Hop, he chose to rest for the remainder of the week—since the trauma from the powerplant was still fresh on his mind.

“Wheee! I’ve always wanted one of these scooters!” Leon laughed optimistically.

Hop sat nearby, leaning on the dining room table with his arms folded and his head slumped into them. He looked up a tiny bit to watch his brother zoom around, almost as obnoxious as a mosquito.

“I figured you’d be sadder about breaking your leg.” he mused.

Leon stopped for a moment to respond to Hop, “Well, it does suck! But at the same time, I FINALLY have an excuse to use one of these!” he laughed, “I can stop though—if it’s bothering you.”

“It’s not,” he lied, smiling a tiny bit, “I’m just a sad sap because Gloria is still in the hospital.”

“We should be thankful she’s alive right now, Hop. By how it looked, it didn’t seem likely she would survive at _all_ —but somehow they managed to stabilize her within an hour.”

“Yeah…” Hop grimaced, remembering the state he and Bede had found her.

Leon hesitated, wondering if he should go on, “You know—about that bloody mess you witnessed… I think they tested for it later, and all of what you saw belonged to the professor guy—and he’s _dead_.”

“Really?” Hop raised his head a bit.

“Yeah. I mean—Gloria had some internal bleeding and broken ribs, but other than that, I think she’s okay. The man’s name is Professor Flanders. Dunno what he does, but I’m pretty sure he’s responsible for some pretty horrible events…” he paused, remembering something, “Strange though… last evening, his body went missing.”

Hop’s head shot up, “What!? Where is it?”

“No one knows. It was at the coroner’s last night, but now it’s completely gone. Some people reckon there was a break-in, but there wasn’t a shred of evidence to prove that. It’s a mystery.”

“Strange…”

The two thought about it for a moment, until Leon’s phone suddenly interrupted their pause.

“Ah—alas! It seems my work is following me even to my very home!”

“Just pick up your phone, dolt.”

He snickered at Hop, and picked up with a suave: “Hello, hello~!”

“Hi, this is the St. John’s hospital in Wyndon. Are you Chairman Leon?”

“Why, yes I am!”

“You asked to keep tabs on Gloria Verity, is that correct?”

“I did… is something wrong?”

“Quite the opposite. A few minutes ago, she woke up for the first time.”

“WHAT!? That’s FAST! Are you serious!?”

“She’s awake and cognitive, so as long as she permits it, we’re opening visiting hours for a select few of her choice. Just thought I’d let you know.”

“That’s amazing news!” Leon beamed, “I’ll be over as soon as I can!”

After a few more words, he hung up, and whirled to face his brother, “Hop—you won’t believe this… Gloria woke up this evening—she’s gonna be fine!”

Hop jumped to his feet, “What!? Already!?”

“I know—that’s what I said!”

“Let’s go. Right NOW.” Hop interrupted, and started scrambling for his shoes.

“Woah, woah—hold on a minute, let me tell the news to the others first. I’m sure Bede and Marnie would like to know this as well. They were there too, after all.”

* * *

Bede lived alone just outside of Ballonlea. To the right of the gym, there was a long pathway into the forest that led to a large, two-story house. It was wooden, and looked a little old—almost like it was vacant, yet the inside was very neat and well cared for.

There were only a few rooms—a small kitchen and dining room combination that was just beyond the front door, a living room on the left which was decorated with classy furniture and a large television, and then the upstairs which included a loft for playing games and studying, a small bathroom, and one decently-sized bedroom.

Bede lay on his bed in the very corner of his bedroom. He lived alone, but it never felt that way with his Pokémon around. During these few days, however, he felt a deep melancholy festering within his heart. He couldn’t sleep well—as the image of his blood-drenched friend would always creep into his mind and haunt him awake every night.

This evening he chose to read. In the living room, his walls were lined with bookshelves—most of which were given to him for free from random libraries, a select few being presents from Opal or Gloria. Most of them he hadn’t read—he was never much of a reader until recently, but today he chose something large and ambitious-looking. He hoped occupying himself with the task would take his mind off of the events at Hammerlocke.

At the moment, he was skimming a filler section of a popular fantasy. He was in the middle of it when his phone on the nearby table began to ring. Bored of his novel, he closed it shut, plopped it onto his lap, and flipped over his phone to identify the caller. To his surprise, it was the Chairman.

“Hello, this is gym leader Bede.”

“Bede! I’ve got some good news—Gloria is awake!”

There was a shocked pause.

“What.” he didn’t process it.

“Gloria—she awoke a few minutes ago! Hop and I are going to go visit her straight away!”

Immediately, Bede shot out of his chair—sending his book flying onto the floor in the process, and scrambled for his jacket and shoes with his phone hovering at his left side.

“Thanks. I’m going right now.”

“See ya’ then!”

He hung up, and after nearly tripping down the stairs, Bede rushed out into the cold evening air and signaled the first taxi he saw.

* * *

Piers hung up his phone after talking to Leon. He glanced over at Marnie, who was playing video games on the couch.

“Oi sis,” he interrupted, plopping down next to her.

“What?”

“That was Leon just now.”

“That’s nice.”

“Want to know what that was about?”

She hesitated, “Not really.”

“‘Kay.”

There was a short pause. Piers checked his phone, and Marnie tapped her foot impatiently. Her curiosity was practically burning her alive, but rather than prod, she merely flicked him a sideways glance.

“What did he want, exactly?” she asked, pretending she wasn’t interested.

“Dunno. Some invitation somewhere late at night.”

“To um… where? Might I ask?”

“To that ‘ospital in Wyndon.”

She paused her game instantly, blinked, and turned directly to face her brother.

“Why the hospital?”

“Somethin’ about Gloria wakin’ up a few minutes ago.”

Marnie jumped up ferociously, “WHAT!? You idiot—why wouldn’t you tell me that!?”

Piers sighed, “It’s late and I don’t want to go anywhere…”

Irritated, she grabbed a book lying on the couch and bopped his head with it, “Idiot! We’re going—NOW!”

After throwing on her shoes, Piers sighed deeply and dragged his feet towards the front door.

“Frankly I don’t think she’d want us to visit her so late _either_ … but maybe that’s just me…”

* * *

Hop ran through the sliding doors of the hospital, Leon rolling along closely behind him with his scooter.

“We’re here to see Gloria Verity!” Hop announced, panting as he reached the front desk.

“Oh! So late? Visiting hours are—Chairman!”

“Hello!” Leon smiled, “We can come see her, right? I was told I can.”

She hesitated, “I suppose… I’ll ring up her nurse and let her know.”

Shortly after Leon and Hop’s entrance, Marnie and Piers burst in behind them.

“We’re here too!” Marnie shouted, “Same reason as those two!”

The lady looked rather flustered at this point. Standing before her was the chairman, two gym leaders, and the assistant professor of Galarian Pokémon—four very well-known individuals in the region. It was such a sudden surprise, she almost froze up, but somehow she was able to regain her composure.

“Alright—alright! I suppose you can visit, just let me verify first.”

She picked up a phone and spoke to Gloria’s nurse for a moment to make sure visiting was alright.

“If it’s the Chairman,” Gloria’s nurse responded, “then we can certainly make an exception.”

Marnie and Hop looked overjoyed at hearing this news. Leon smiled smugly at the two of them, aware of his crucial presence.

“I called Bede too though—wonder where he is?”

Out of crazy coincidence, Bede suddenly burst in through the doors shortly after he spoke.

“I’m here—” he panted.

“Wow—that’s kinda impressive.” Piers noted, acknowledging his impeccable timing.

Now the desk lady was _very_ flustered.

“G-gym leader Bede as well!? Um… I’m not sure about this now…” she sighed.

“What’s wrong with Bede?” Marnie asked.

“We have a limit of four visitors at a time—if they’re not family members, and if no family is visiting already.”

“Is Gloria’s mom visiting right now?” Hop asked.

“No—she was here much earlier, I believe. She’s already left.”

“That makes sense.” Piers mused quietly.

“Wait—are you saying I can’t visit her!?” Bede stuttered, bewildered at the news.

“Technically, no!” Marnie started giggling.

“I—what!?” he started to beg, “Please—one of you—can I please… Piers? Leon?”

“I dunno mate… I actually do kinda want to see her. I drove all this way…” Piers shrugged.

“And I sort of _have_ to accompany them if you all want access.” Leon added apologetically.

Hop just shrugged, “You snooze you lose, mate.”

Bede fell to his knees dramatically, “There’s no way…” he moaned, “Why me…?”

Increasingly flustered, the clerk started waving her hands dismissively, “I think I can allow one extra person—if it’s okay with Gloria… But don’t make this a habit!”

Bede jumped up and let out a relieved sigh, “Thank goodness…”

The five of them proceeded up the elevator to the highest floor where the VIP suites were located. When the door opened, they immediately noticed how luxurious the floor looked. The tile was well-polished and sanitized, and along the edges of the halls were padded chairs, meant for any visitors waiting in line. One small table accompanied them with a magazine stand sitting on top of it.

“Looks more like a hotel than a hospital…” Marnie commented.

They stopped at room 1023. A nurse was just leaving her room when they stopped in front of the door.

“Ch-Chairman!?” she stuttered, shocked.

“Hi!” Leon smiled and shook her hand, “We’re here to see Gloria.”

The nurse looked a little surprised, but nodded, “I’ll go see if she wants visitors. She’s very tired.”

She opened the door quietly, returning to Gloria’s bedroom.

The five of them tried to peek around the curtain that was blocking their view of Gloria’s bed, but none of them managed a clear shot of her.

“Did you see her?” Marnie whispered to Bede and Hop.

“No—of course not. What—were you trying to peek?” Bede hissed back.

“I saw her,” Piers stated, though he said this mostly to annoy the other three.

“Really!?” Hop half-shouted, though still whispering.

“No you didn’t!” Marnie punched him lightly.

He just shrugged.

Inside the room, the nurse was standing warily away from Gloria’s bed, just next to the curtain at the front door.

“You have visitors.” she said quietly.

There wasn’t an immediate response.

Gloria was sitting upright, her face turned away to stare out the window. Despite being supposedly injured, her appearance was eerily normal.

“I don’t want to see anyone right now.” she responded sharply.

“Really? But I thought you—they came all this way…”

“Turn them away.”

There was a long pause before the nurse nodded, “Very well… I will let them know.”

Gloria listened to the familiar voices as the nurse repeated her response to them.

“What?” Hop asked, stunned, “There must be some mistake—did you specify we’re her friends?”

Bede stood silently, dumbstruck that Gloria would turn them away.

“Please clarify to her that it’s us—maybe she’ll agree if she knows who we are.” Marnie pleaded.

The nurse hesitated, then let out a long sigh, “I’ll double check.”

She returned to the room once again, this time letting Gloria know that they were Marnie, Piers, Hop, Leon, and Bede.

“I don’t care,” she mumbled coldly, “Tell them maybe tomorrow, but definitely not today,” she paused, thinking, “They’re the last people I want to see right now.”

The nurse looked stunned at her cold remark.

From the hall, the group’s faces fell. Gloria’s cold words pierced through their minds like icicles as they realized what she had just said.

_“They’re the last people I want to see right now.”_

“She doesn’t want to see us.” Bede lowered his face, his throat burning with confusion and rage.

They didn’t respond.

“Are you really sure about this? They seem really desperate to see you—I’d just hate to tell them they have to leave—” the doctor continued before being sharply interrupted.

“Well that’s not your decision to make, ma’am.” Gloria hissed, still staring intensely out the window, “I’m not myself right now. I’m tired and confused—I can’t see them like this.”

“I mean no offense, Miss Verity, but what will change between now and tomorrow? You won’t just heal in a day—”

“ _I_ will change!” she spun around and her sharp, grey eyes bore into the nurse’s gaze.

The nurse took a step back.

“Get OUT!” she yelled. Her body trembled and a tear slipped into view, but she snapped her gaze back to the window so she could wipe it away in secret.

The nurse nodded, trying to be understanding, “Very well…” she sighed, a slight tremble in her voice, “I will let them know.”

She opened the door again and started to apologize, “Listen—I’m very sorry about this, but Gloria insists that no one visit her until tomorr—”

But Bede, who was growing increasingly anxious with each passing second, shoved past the doctor and threw himself into the room.

“Bede!” Hop shouted, alarmed by his sudden impulsiveness.

“Sir—” the nurse reached out to stop him, but he’d already thrown aside the curtains and joined Gloria at the side of her bed.

There was an intense silence that charged the air with tension as Bede stared at the back of Gloria’s head.

“Why?” he started, a hostile tremor in his voice, “Why are you telling us to leave?”

She didn’t respond. Her back was arched away from him, and her head was turned stiffly towards the window. He could see her trembling—though he couldn’t tell if it was out of fear, sadness, or rage.

The sight of her made him clench his fists. Here she was, alive in front of him, yet pushing him away. He couldn’t help but be upset—couldn’t help but prod her. He needed to know _why_. It was killing him. He cared about her too much.

Far too much.

“We thought you were _dead_ , and this is how you treat us? _Sorry_ for worrying about you.” he snapped.

“Bede—” Marnie hissed, “Stop it! You’re makin’ things worse!”

“I thought I told you to leave.” Gloria answered sharply.

Her reply stunned everyone in the room. The nectar-sweet, diabetic deliciousness she always had in her tone was gone. Bede had known for a while that she often faked her sweetness to be polite, but for the first time she wasn’t showing them any mercy. Each word was separated with a steel blade of coldness, carefully enunciated without a single hint of remorse. For a moment, he almost wondered if they’d walked into the wrong room.

“We just—” he stammered.

“ENOUGH!” she screamed.

As she twirled, her hair spun in the twinkling moonlight. Instantly, her eyes landed on his own, flashing white like polished steel as they passed the light. The sight of her eyes made Bede’s words die in the back of his throat.

They were as soulless and grey as the stars in the sky.

He took a wary step back. Gloria was not one to ignore her contact lenses. Though they were trivial to anyone else, to Gloria, they were her shields. Bede remembered firsthand what she was like with her natural eye colour. Short, brown hair, and empty, chill-inducing grey eyes. When they had met during the gym challenge, she was a monster—beating the living daylights out of his Pokémon every time they met. Granted, he was the one who provoked her, but it didn’t change how mercilessly she’d always destroyed him.

As scary as her eyes were, however, they were also memorizing. The weaving, perfect pattern of veins in the whites of her eyes, and the flawless, silver colouration of her irises was stunning. Bede reckoned there was no one in the entire world who had eyes as flawless and terrifying as hers. This was the exact reason she wore coloured lenses in the first place—to shield her fans from her hypnotic, insanity-inducing gaze.

Finally realizing she was overreacting towards Bede, Gloria faltered. Her eyes shrank away in disgust of herself, and she cupped her hands over her eyes and turned back towards the window.

“I’m sorry…” she whispered, her voice quivering with fear, “I’m not myself right now… please give me one more day. I fear if I look at you a moment longer I might return to a grey reality.”

 _A what?_ he pondered.

He almost thought her words were a bit archaic—like she was trying too hard to create a metaphor. As he thought about it, however, he realized she was referring to the exact persona he had in mind: her previous bitter, cold self.

 _She’s afraid of her own past, then. Is that why she…_ he cut himself off.

“No… I should be apologizing.” Bede winced, finally acknowledging his mistake, “We’ll come back tomorrow, like you said.”

He turned sharply and stepped out of the room.

“Bede?” Marnie reached out to grab his shoulder, but she stopped herself short.

“We’ll talk later.” he cut in quickly, glancing reproachfully at her hand as he side-stepped past her.

Then, one by one, they stepped away from the room. Just as the others started to leave, Hop remained where he was for a moment to finally catch a glance at his old friend. Past the nurse, though it was brief, he could see Gloria with her arms wrapped tightly around her knees. Though she wasn’t sniffling, he spotted a tear on her cheek, and swore he could see the words: “I’m sorry” imprinted across her cracked lips.

But before he could see anything else, the door was shut, and he had no choice but to follow the others back to the elevator.

The ride down was completely silent. Bede pressed the button for the main floor, and then the group was engulfed in nothing but old, cheesy-sounding music from four decades ago.

“Told you she wouldn’t want to see us,” Piers finally quipped, breaking the silence.

Marnie punched him again, and the quiet returned just as quickly as it had left.


	9. Memory Eight - A New Rivalry Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As requested, Hop, Bede, Marnie, Piers, and Leon decide to return the next morning, hoping Gloria will be in a better mood. When they arrive, she receives them warmly—an eerie contrast to her behavior the previous night, and they all proceed to relax together for the next couple hours. As they're leaving the hospital, Bede and Hop also discover something about each other that jeopardizes their chance of becoming friends.

The next afternoon, the same group of friends tried revisiting Gloria a second time. This time, it was sunny outside, and Gloria was well-rested, so they expected her to be more welcoming.

“Uh… the nurse isn’t here this time…” Hop noticed, “Do we just… knock?”

“I think so,” Marnie shrugged, “She’ll probably just tell us to come in.”

Marnie rapped on the door three times.

“Hey Gloria, it’s us!” she announced from the other side, “We’re back!”

There was a short pause. As they listened for a response, the group glanced worriedly at one another.

“Guess she still doesn’t want to see us…” Bede sighed, already turning away. Before he could step aside, however, the door suddenly clicked open.

Gloria was standing in the doorway with a perplexed expression on her face. Her long hair was slightly ruffled, falling down her shoulders in messy, brown waterfalls, and she was wearing a neat, surprisingly stylish hospital gown. When she saw them, she grinned.

“Ah!” she clasped her hands together happily, “You came back! Thank goodness… I’ve been itching to see you all!”

“What the—Gloria you’re not supposed to be walkin’ around yet!” Marnie scolded, alarmed that she was already wandering around without help.

“Eh? No—I’m just fine. Don’t worry about it. Come in!” she smiled sweetly at the five of them, and everyone let out a sigh of relief.

She was back to normal after all.

Gloria hopped onto her bed and gestured to the few seats in the room.

Piers whistled, “Huge room. So this is what VIP quality buys…”

Marnie glowered at him, “Stop bein’ so insensitive, Piers.”

“What’s wrong with admiring rich people?”

She glared at him, and he muttered quietly under his breath, “You do it all the time…”

Gloria laughed at their bickering, “I see none of you have changed.”

Hop smiled, “Nope! We’re all fine—now that we know you’re okay. Although…” he hesitated, “yesterday seemed like a rough night for you. Are you feeling better today?”

Gloria flinched, “Yeah… I’m sorry… I was remembering all the things I saw down at Hammerlocke and it was weighing pretty heavily on my mind…”

“Gosh that must’ve been a nasty experience…” Leon commented, concerned, “Do you know what the explosion was all about? Everyone keeps talking about it.”

Her eyelashes fluttered, and Bede noticed a wave of dread fall across her face. Then she shook her head and smiled.

“Don’t worry about it. All that matters is I’m okay—really! Most of my ribs are already better by now, anyway. I’ve always been a quick healer, I suppose…” her smile faded a bit as she thought about her last sentence.

“That’s good!” Leon smiled, finally rolling past the curtain to enter her room, “It’s nice to be young—isn’t it? Can’t say the same for my leg, but I’m sure we’ll both be recovered in a few months here.”

When her eyes landed on his leg cast, Gloria’s body stiffened. A tight gasp caught in the back of her throat, and her pupils shrank back in shock. Her mind wandered back to the powerplant, and a rush of horrible sounds and colors flooded her mind. She pulled her hands over her ears, and suddenly large tears started sliding down her rosy cheeks.

Bede jolted out of his seat instinctively, and Leon began flailing his arms in apology.

“Ah! Oh—don’t make that face, I’m okay—seriously! Heck this scooter’s a lot of fun to use—Gloria don’t blame yourself… okay?”

She blinked, and furiously shook her head to clear her mind, “Oh—no of c-course I don’t blame myself, but…” she inhaled sharply, wiping away her tears with her thumb, “I just remembered… how your leg broke.”

Bede sat down and everyone fell silent.

“So you witnessed that too…” Marnie sighed, rubbing her neck.

“Y-yes… Flanders was trying to intimidate me, and he hurt Leon. I didn’t want that to happen—it was an accident, but in the end…” her voice trailed off.

“So you already know his name?” Bede asked suddenly, startling everyone when he finally spoke.

“Yes, I already knew—” she stopped herself for a moment, and her eyes flitted, making a split decision, “I interrogated one of his members before running into him.”

“Reminds me… the police found a scared member on the floor who had been attacked by a Pokémon. Was that your doing?” Piers asked.

She paused. With each question, the smile and colour in her face was slowly draining away. Regardless, she nodded, and went on.

“Y-yes… I did that—but I was scared, you know? The adrenaline caused me to act a bit irrationally—I didn’t mean to hurt that man, but…”

Her eyes suddenly closed, and the smile disappeared. For a moment, she sat in silence with her eyes shut and her mouth sullen with pain. Then, like a light switch, her lips flicked back upward into a practiced smile, and her eyes returned to their usual brightness—grey as they were.

“But it’s in the past now,” she finished, “I don’t have any regrets.”

“That’s good,” Marnie sighed, “I’d hate for you to beat yourself up over something like this. It’s not your fault, afta’ all.”

Bede simply watched Gloria from his seat. Though she was trying hard not to let it show, he could tell she was more broken than usual. The pain behind her smile was prominent, and her eyes were suffering from the strain of pretend happiness. Without the fakeness of her brown lenses, it was easier to catch her subtle inconsistencies.

Her sunken posture, her shifting, un-focusing eyes, her tingling smile—they were subtle signs of her insecurity. She was anxious and uncomfortable, but for some reason she was desperate to hide her true nature from her friends.

“You’re a lot easier to read without your contacts in.”

Marnie and Hop blinked incredulously at him.

“What?”

He straightened up, surprised at himself, “I didn’t know I said that out loud.”

Upon hearing his words, the pretend light in her eyes disappeared. It was like he had just blown out a candle.

She laughed.

“There’s no point hiding anything from you Bede, is there?”

Everyone’s attention snapped back to her, and suddenly she went limp. Her gaze fell to the floor, and her back slumped. She collected her thoughts one last time before finally speaking again—her voice no longer sugar-coated, but precise and serious as it was the night before.

“The reason for my reluctance yesterday was because my memories of Hammerlocke were still fresh,” she blinked slowly before continuing, “You see… everything that happened that day had to do with some old stuff—some moments that I prefer not to remember. When I moved to this region, I hoped I could finally move on from all of that, but it seems those people don’t want me to forget it just yet.”

Her eyes crept back up to her friends’ faces, “I’ll be honest—I _really_ don’t want any of you to get wrapped up in this mess. It will bring you nothing but misfortune—as it has done for me. I’d rather only involve people who already know about it. Open Dream is a dangerous group of people, and they—”

She stopped, her face paling at her own words, “Actually—nevermind. Point is, only my mom and I know about it. I’m not ready to tell any of you the details… okay? Maybe someday when all of this is over, but not now.”

They nodded silently, processing her words carefully. There was a part of Hop that wanted her to go on, but he was concerned about overstepping his boundaries. Though he considered himself her friend, the two of them had been out of touch for the past two years. It would be out of line to suddenly butt in and pester her about memories that clearly gave her pain.

 _Now isn’t the time for me to ask,_ he concluded, sending Gloria a reassuring glance, _But when we’re friends again, maybe she’ll let me help her. I can’t stand seeing her hurting like this…_

Gloria sighed in relief, “Thank you… I’m so lucky to have such good friends.”

Her bittersweet smile returned, and the tension in the air finally melted away.

“Anyway… can we talk about something else now?” Gloria pleaded, “I’ve had enough angst to last me this whole month.”

“Yeah—please!” Marnie sighed, relieved to finally be done with the Hammerlocke trauma.

For the remainder of their stay, the friends caught up with each other. Hop filled in Gloria about his last two years of research, mostly raving about how Gloria had supplied the lab with every single form of Alcremie.

“…and I even named them all!” Gloria added, laughing.

“That just makes it _more_ confusing…” Hop sighed, and Marnie laughed. Bede smiled a bit, feeling refreshed to finally have a normal conversation.

“Hey—I think your face healed up finally!” Gloria remarked, reaching forward to touch it.

“Yeah—but why would you touch it if it hurts!?” Hop leaned back a little, but more out of embarrassment than pain.

Bede gave her a smug grin, “Yeah—you got a weird fetish with touching people’s faces or something? This isn’t the first time you’ve done this.”

Gloria pouted, “It’s not a fetish! I just get worried when I see my friends hurt…”

“Well that’s nice and all, but please don’t touch my leg any time soon.” Leon grinned.

“Wha—” her face went red, and the others chuckled at his light-hearted remark.

Before they’d finished laughing, Leon glanced at his phone, realizing he had two missed calls.

“Oh—I have to go!” Leon remarked suddenly, “I promised Sonia we’d do something this afternoon.”

“Ooooh is it a _date?_ ” Hop grinned sinisterly.

“No, stupid,” Leon answered, karate-chopping his head playfully, “We’re just hangin’ out—like old times. Nice to see you’re better Gloria! I’ve gotta go—catch ya’ later!”

They all waved goodbye to Leon as he left the room. Now it was just the four of them—though Piers appeared to be dozing off.

“Speaking of dates…” Marnie cut in, grinning sneakily at Hop and Bede.

“Eh!?” Hop recoiled away from her in surprise, _Does she know something or is she just playing around!?_

“Don’t you DARE.” Bede hissed, his eyes widening with anger.

Marnie hesitated, taken aback by the two separate reactions, “Why’d you _both_ react to what I said? I was just talkin’ to B—OH!”

She spun to lock eyes with Hop, who backed off instantly. Her eyes twinkled with mischief, “Don’t tell me… Hop, do you like—”

“No! It’s not like that, I—”

He caught eyes with Bede and suddenly both came to the same realization:

_He likes her too!?_

Suddenly Leon’s words returned to the back of Hop’s mind: _“What were you even fighting about? Was it a girl or something?”_

 _Maybe there was more truth to that than I thought,_ Hop realized, grimacing.

“I don’t get it…” Gloria blinked, “What are you guys talking about?”

Marnie burst into laughter while Bede and Hop just stared blankly at each other. After another minute, Bede turned away childishly and crossed his arms.

 _We really are doomed to be rivals, aren’t we?_ Bede fumed to himself, frustrated Marnie would so freely embarrass him.

After another minute of bashful stammers and denials, the group resumed their normal conversation into the late afternoon.

Shocked, Marnie glanced at the clock, “Woah! We’ve been hea’ for more than three houa’s! Um, we should probably go home soon.”

“Yeah… Opal’s gonna have a word with me if I don’t hurry back to my training.”

Hop sighed, “Alright… let’s pack it up then.” he glanced over and noticed Piers was asleep.

“That means you too, Piers,” Marnie nudged, flicking Piers’ forehead.

“Fine,” he sat up and rubbed his eyes, “Let’s go then. I’m tired.”

“Obviously,” Marnie rolled her eyes.

The four of them waved goodbye to Gloria before closing the door to her room.

“Train’s nearby. Might as well catch it,” Marnie noticed, checking her phone for the time.

“Sure,” Bede responded flatly.

The four split up a bit, Marnie joining her older brother Piers in front, whom had a longer stride than anyone else, leaving Bede to walk awkwardly next to Hop.

“So…” Hop began, trying to make conversation, “Enjoy the visit?”

“Of course I did.”

“Ah. Good.”

They kept walking, not really sure what to say.

“You know… you don’t have to force yourself to become friends with me,” Bede mused.

Hop looked up at him, surprised, “What? I thought you wanted to after we apologized a few days ago.”

“Yeah, but now that I see your intentions, I’m less keen on becoming friends.”

Hop raised an eyebrow, “What intentions?”

Bede sighed and flicked his bangs out of his eyes, “Look… I can tell you’re just trying to be nice so you can get on better terms with Gloria. After all—Marnie made it pretty obvious you’re into her.”

Hop’s face reddened, “What!? I don’t—since when!?”

“How am I supposed to answer that?” Bede leered at him and sighed, “I can’t believe you didn’t realize it yourself…”

“I—well…” he cleared his throat, “Anyway, why is that preventing us from being friends?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Bede stopped for a moment to look Hop directly in the eyes, “I like Gloria too. We can’t _both_ have her, you dolt.”

There was an anxious pause before Hop answered with a short: “Oh…”

“Anyway, with that out of the bag, there’s _no way_ we can be friends. We’re doomed to be rivals.” Bede pouted, and started walking again.

Hop sighed, “Well… we can at least be neutral with each other, right?” he rubbed his neck.

“Neutral?” Bede thought about that for a moment, “Sure. But I’m never calling you my friend. Understand?”

“That’s fine,” Hop turned away sourly, but was relieved he didn’t have to make any more attempts at friendship with Bede.

“Ooooh rivals huh? Nice!” Marnie suddenly spun around and the two boys yelled in surprise.

“Marnie! You were listening!?” Hop’s face reddened.

“Seriously Marnie!? I’ll kill—” Bede started, but stopped halfway when Piers gave him a hostile glance.

“Just so you know, I’m rootin’ for Hop!” she then pointed to Bede and continued, “This sourpuss’ll prob’ly have more luck if he dated his pet rock.”

Bede’s face reddened with anger and embarrassment, but he knew he was powerless to reprimand her as long as Piers was around, so he just mumbled angry gibberish in replacement of swear words. Marnie cackled as he promptly lost his mind.

Still, when they reached their stop at the train station minutes later, Marnie, Piers and Bede proceeded onto the train for Hammerlocke. When Bede looked at Hop, who was still on the platform, he only gave him a half-nod—as if he were acknowledging the start of their new rivalry. Hop returned the same, though far less confident, and turned away to flag down a taxi.

“Golly I hope my luck turns out alright for this one…” he sighed, “I’m so tired of all this…”


	10. Memory Nine - She Wore Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After his conversation with Bede, Hop falls into a daze about Gloria—wondering when on earth he'd developed feelings for her. Naturally he's interrupted by Leon, who proceeds to tease him about his obvious feelings. The next day, Hop is surprised to find Gloria sitting in their kitchen, apparently preparing to be interviewed by Leon regarding the Hammerlocke incident.

Hop dropped his bag onto the floor as he entered his house.

“I’m home,” he half-yelled, too tired to shout at full volume.

Everything about Hop’s face was flushed. His head was hot, and the tips of his ears were reddening with every passing second. Bede’s words jumped into his mind again: _“…Marnie made it pretty obvious you’re into her.”_ He blinked slowly and felt his heart burn. _“Isn’t it obvious? I like Gloria too.”_

_Since when did I like Gloria?_

Hop rubbed his forehead, trying to figure out when he’d started liking her.

_Was it the night at the train station?_

He began marching up the stairs, his brain sizzling with delirious twitterpation. He put his hand softly over the rim of his mouth, recalling their tender parting at the train station once again. Then, flushed, he halted half-way up the stairs.

_Why can’t I find an answer to this question?_

Frustrated, he let his hand fall to his side and let out a long sigh.

_She stole my first kiss._

The realization of this made his hear purr like a machine gun. He sucked in a sharp inhale and shook his head harshly to clear the ridiculous thought out of his head.

Unable to grasp when his romantic interest started, he flopped onto his bed in exasperation. There was no way of knowing when his romance had kindled. It just _happened_ —that’s all there was to it.

_But… how? We were separated for two years, yet suddenly I can’t keep my composure around her anymore._

Then suddenly, an image entered his mind. It was an old memory, but a refreshing one. He was playing with Gloria in her backyard, laughing without a care in the world. She was much shyer back then. It took a long time for the two opposites to become friends. Years later, Leon came to visit everyone in Wedgehurst, and that day Gloria and Hop received their first starter Pokémon. Hop excitedly chose Scorbunny, while Gloria opted for Sobble.

He could remember the look in her eyes when she held her first ever Pokémon. In all their days of middle school, her eyes had always remained the same morbid shade of grey. It always looked like a cloudy, rainy day was happening inside her head. On the day she held Sobble, sunlight parted the clouds in her eyes for the first time. There was a tear in her eye as a slow smile spread across her face.

“I’m gonna name you Bobble!” she laughed, and spun around once with the Pokémon in her arms.

The day she smiled with her full heart, was the day he felt a sting of romance finally seize him. It was impossible to forget the awe he’d felt, seeing her so genuinely happy for the first time since he’d met her. From that moment onwards, he started noticing her—having curious, fleeting thoughts: _She’s cute. She’s pretty. She’s sweet. What if I held her hand?_

Hop blinked up at the ceiling in his bedroom, realizing he was smiling gleefully at nothing. He sucked in his cheeks, glad no one had walked in and seen him.

 _That’s right,_ he realized, _It was that smile. That first time she honestly smiled was the day I think I started feeling things about her._

His memories resumed through their gym challenge like a time capsule. The battles, the memories—every time they laughed and cried… in-between each precious moment, Hop felt a flower sprout in his heart. However, when Gloria became the champion, those flowers wilted. His dreams had been dashed before his very eyes. He felt betrayed—ruined by his best friend. It didn’t take long for those flowers to crumble away. Over time, all that grew back were thick vines—changing his infatuation into a painful thorn in his heart.

 _I liked her,_ he sighed, feeling so stupid for not understanding it sooner, _but after what had happened, I lost sight of who I was. I had to pursue an entirely different dream. Whatever romantic feelings I had felt before were replaced with a never-ending bitterness of self-loathing and disappointment. Suddenly I couldn’t stand to even look at her anymore—let alone_ like _her._

That’s why he stopped watching Pokémon battles. It was because he was upset at Gloria.

Hop flipped onto his stomach and punched his pillow angrily, _Stupid! How could I be such an idiot!? I never admitted it—but I really_ have _been stuck in the past!_

Defeated, he let his fist drop, and his head sink into his now lumpy pillow.

_How can I fix the mess I made? Should I try to get to know her again?_

His heart leapt.

_Should I ask her out on a date?_

The thought lingered on his mind for several minutes.

_What if she says no? She already said she felt bad about what she did at the train station… am I a lost cause, or can I redeem myself?_

Before he could delve further into his tangent, his door was suddenly thrust open by his older brother Leon.

“Hey Hop!” Leon bellowed cheerfully.

Hop shouted, surprised, “What the—how did you get up the stairs!?”

“I hopped,” he smiled mischievously, “Don’t tell mum.”

“Five quid I won’t.”

“Fine,” he tossed him a note, “I’ve got the money anyway.”

“Not very humble though,” Hop noted, sticking the money into his wallet before Leon changed his mind.

“I think I can live with that.”

“Sure… how was your date with Sonia?”

“It wasn’t a date, smart-mouth.” Leon replied, a mildly annoyed look on his face.

“You wish it was though—I bet.”

“Fine. Did you enjoy your ‘date’ with Gloria, then?”

Hop jolted slightly, “Jerk.” he muttered, and slumped his shoulders as a surrender.

Leon grinned slyly, “To answer your question, it was lovely. We had a blast.”

“What did you guys do?”

“Caught up—mostly,” Leon shrugged, “Then we went and checked out some attractions in Wyndon that I’d never tried before.”

“Nice,” Hop grinned.

“What did you guys do after I left?”

“Well…” he thought about it for a minute, “Chatted, mostly. Piers fell asleep for about the whole duration we were there. I talked about my Pokémon research for a good portion, and…” he decided not to include any details about his new rivalry with Bede, “yeah that’s about it, honestly…”

“Boring.” Leon shrugged, “Did Gloria enjoy having you guys there?”

“I’d say so! She was laughing and smiling along with the rest of us—quite the improvement from yesterday.”

“Yeah… in fact, she kinda reminded me how she was like when she first moved here. She was a lot shyer back then, yes?”

Hop nodded, “She was always pretty quiet when we were younger. After she became champion, she got all bubbly and sweet. Kinda weird, if you think about it.”

“I wouldn’t say so. People change all the time—especially when their situations change. Gloria probably _had_ to become outgoing if she wanted to be good at her profession.”

Hop shrugged, “True. I hope she stays how she is now though. I think I prefer her happy side more than her quiet side.”

“So you _do_ like her then?”

Hop glared at him, “Stop.”

Leon smiled, “Fine, I will! After you answer me, that is.”

Hop shook his head, “Fine… yes, I suppose I _do_ like Gloria a little bit…”

Leon smirked and pumped his fist, “I knew it!” he whispered obnoxiously.

“Anything else?” Hop asked, deciding it would be easier to get Leon’s inquiries out of the way while it was still on his mind.

“Nothin’ man, I’m just rooting for ya’!” he gave him a thumb’s up.

“Yeah, well unfortunately I’ve got to clear up some things first if I even want a _chance_ at her liking me. You were _there_ when I got rejected.”

Leon’s smile turned into a grimace, “Oh yeah… whoops.”

“Plus, I found out something bad while we were leaving from our visit. Bede and I were talking on the way back, and he—”

“Oh that’s right!” Leon interrupted, “Have you two made up yet? (He’s not suing—is he?)”

“What—yes, we made up. Gloria forced us to. (And he’s not suing me.)”

Leon let out of a sigh of relief and shook his head, “You lucky, lucky boy. That could’ve been _real_ troublesome. Anyway, continue.”

“Right… um—as I was saying, Bede told me to stop trying to be his friend. He um… he likes Gloria too.”

Leon jolted back in surprise, “WHAT!? Wow! I had no idea! How long has he—I could’ve _sworn_ they didn’t get along!”

“That’s what I thought!” Hop defended, “That’s why I was so confused when she took his side after I punched him at the train station…”

Leon frowned, “So basically—once a rival, always a rival. Is that right?”

Hop nodded, “Pretty much.”

Leon cringed, “Come to think of it… I can see it now. Those two spend a lot of time together—more than you think. Heck, he, Gloria, and Marnie go out just about every weekend. I suppose it was only a matter of time until he developed some feelings for her…”

Hop winced, “Is that so… I just hope Gloria isn’t interested in him.”

“Yeah… well, lucky for you you’re already a step ahead of Bede, aren’t you? After all, even if she didn’t _mean_ it, she still kissed you, didn’t she?”

“Stop bringing that up,” Hop grumbled embarrassedly, “That doesn’t really count.”

Leon laughed, “Well, good luck lad! This competition may be tough, but I think it’ll turn out good for you! Anyway, I better get down stairs before Mum finds out I snuck up here.”

Hop nodded. He’d been sleeping downstairs on a spare bed for the past few days so he wouldn’t have to hike up the stairs with his leg.

“You know, you should get your own place, freeloader. Aren’t you rich enough now?”

Leon groaned, “I’m working on it, _Mum_ ~.”

Hop rolled his eyes, “What a dummy,” he mumbled out of earshot.

When he’d heard his brother reach the bottom of the stairs, he hopped out of bed and started to change into his pyjamas.

 _Am I really a step ahead of Bede?_ he wondered to himself, _I mean… since I wasn’t around, he would’ve had her all to himself. What if she rejected me because she likes him more? Heck—they hang out all the time. What if they’ve already gone on a date!?_

He hesitated before removing his shirt.

_Crap… this is what I get for disappearing for two years…_

* * *

The next morning, Hop woke up a little late. As he got out of bed, he glanced at the clock briefly before putting on his bathrobe and heading downstairs.

“11:30… it’s practically lunchtime…” he mumbled tiredly.

Yawning as he hopped off the last step, he caught a glimpse of something blue in the corner of his eye. Hop blinked a few times until he realized the figure was Gloria, who for some reason was sitting at his dining room table by herself.

“Gloria? What are you doing here?” he asked.

Startled, Gloria turned to look at Hop. She noticed his messy hair and bathrobe and realized he must’ve just woken up.

“Ah! Sorry, this must be quite the surprise to you—having me here like this…” she cleared her throat nervously, “I came to speak with Leon about what happened at the powerplant. Right now he’s talking with my Mom in the other room.”

“Oh,” Hop sighed, “I would’ve preferred a little forewarning beforehand… I’m hardly dressed…”

Gloria looked away, “O-oh… should I leave?”

“What?” it took him a moment to understand, but after a second he realized she had the wrong idea, “No—I’m wearing shorts under this! Geez…”

“Ah—I see.”

She didn’t smile. Instead, she remained completely silent as she fiddled with her hands in her lap. In that moment, Hop took a second to observe what she was wearing. Rather than all pink, like usual, her clothes were a drab shade of azure. Gloria wore a greyish-blue blouse and a simple white skirt. Her socks were also white, and she had a black pair of loafers on. Instead of her boater hat, she had a plain, blue ribbon in her hair. Her eye color was also once again brown—though Hop personally felt her natural, grey eyes would’ve suited her better.

Hop proceeded to make himself some toast, since it was close enough to being lunch food, even if it was still technically breakfast food. For the remainder of his time in the kitchen, neither he nor Gloria said a word. She didn’t seem to be in a talkative mood anyway, so it didn’t bother him when they remained silent.

_I wonder how she got cleared from the hospital so fast…_

A minute later, Leon opened the door to their office, and exited with Gloria’s mum directly behind him.

“…and thanks again for coming and telling me this—you didn’t have to, but you still chose to.” Leon thanked her as he opened the door.

“Oh don’t worry about it. I’m happy to help with what I can.” Ms. Verity smiled, but it was a very faint, reluctant smile.

Gloria stood up and locked eyes with her mother.

“It’s your turn sweetheart,” she said sweetly, “Tell him everything you’re willing to tell, but don’t force yourself. It’s alright not to say anything, if you don’t want to.”

Gloria nodded slowly, but didn’t speak.

“Alright then,” Leon smiled invitingly as he ushered Gloria into the room, “Thank you for your time Gloria. Just remember this isn’t an interrogation.”

The door closed, leaving Hop to wonder what was being said.

In the meantime, Gloria took a seat in the room facing Leon.

“We’ll start with what your Mum told me,” he began, keeping his voice low so he wouldn’t make Gloria uncomfortable, “From what she said, you already know who that man was—the one who died.”

“He’s not dead.” Gloria spoke suddenly, “That man fakes his death all the time using a highly-trained Ditto.”

Leon’s eyes widened for a moment with surprise, “Oh. I wasn’t aware of that.” he cleared his throat and resumed speaking, “Let me rephrase that. Professor Flanders is _alive_ , and you know him personally. Correct?”

Gloria nodded.

“Your mum also told me that Flanders is responsible for your father’s disappearance.”

“It wasn’t a mystery where he disappeared to—he betrayed us, but yes. Flanders ruined our family.”

“I see…” he rubbed his neck, “so that means the rest is true. Your parents made a deal with him to spare your life?”

Gloria nodded, “I was supposed to die as a baby. By the time I was born, Mom had already lost three other children to heart defects, and I was doomed to die the same way. But Flanders took an interest in our situation, and offered to save my life. Since then, my life has been…” she lowered her gaze, considering her words, “nothing short of a hell.”

There was a short silence. Leon rubbed his chin worriedly, afraid he was pushing her too much.

“Then…” he paused, “Is it true that he… experimented on you?”

Gloria shuddered, her eyes darting around the room fearfully, “That’s not necessarily—i-it wasn’t—” she inhaled sharply, trying to calm herself, “it wasn’t that bad at first. My dad started working for Flanders as payment for saving my life. We moved to Alola, and they made him bring me to work sometimes, but they didn’t _experiment_ on me. At first my visits were just physicals. They took information, but never hurt me.”

“Not once?”

Gloria didn’t respond immediately.

“They might’ve… done some more—drastic things, later on…” she shook her head fiercely, “I’m sorry… I forced a lot of those memories out of my head when mom and I moved here. I wanted to forget everything that happened in Alola…”

She paused, realizing she was making excuses.

“But if it means anything…” she glanced at her collarbone, remembering a distant, painful memory, “I have a f-fear of hospitals. That’s why I… that’s why I vouched so hard to leave, even though I’m not technically recovered from _the incident._ ”

Leon sighed and nodded, “I can understand that…” he sighed, unable to even imagine what sort of things she’d gone through, “Let’s talk about that incident then. Do you remember what happened?”

Gloria hesitated, “There are pieces I can remember, but some parts are still hazy. I remember entering that hidden room and seeing everyone lying on the ground. They had you there too, but you were suspended in the air…” Gloria paused, “We did a lot of talking—Flanders and I. Stuff about wishes and stars… I couldn’t make heads or tails out of it.”

Leon nodded, “Wishes and stars, huh? They’re group’s called Project: Open Dream, right? What do these people even do?”

“I don’t know all of it… but they’re obsessed with the Pokémon Jirachi.”

“Ah, the wishing Pokémon…” Leon mused, “Makes sense.”

“He wanted to make a deal with me, but I said no. We fought with our Pokémon—I think he tried to trap me at some point. He was also trying to force me into complying by—” Gloria stopped, shuddered, and mumbled, “by breaking your leg…”

Leon glanced at his cast, “Ah… so that’s when this happened.”

“I-I don’t know what happened after that, really. More fighting, more arguing… at some point there was an explosion. I think a stray attack struck a generator, and it caused a short circuit that blew the walls and ceiling right open. I don’t know how I survived—I was right in the middle of it.”

Gloria looked down guiltily and bit her lip.

Leon nodded, “You can stop there, Gloria. I can see you’re in pain. I’ll tell the investigators and we can wrap this up. Let’s call this good for today.”

Leon stood up and reached for the door handle, but stopped suddenly. Gloria had grabbed his free wrist and was pulling him away from the door.

“Wait…” she whispered, fear in her voice, “Leon? Promise me you won’t tell Hop or anyone else.”

He hesitated, “You don’t want them to know?”

Gloria shook her head, “I know your brother. He’ll start sticking his nose into things, and find out stuff he doesn’t need to know. It would ruin me.”

Leon paused, “But isn’t Flanders the villain here? What could he possibly find out that would turn him against y—”

“Leon!” Gloria urged, her grip tightening, “As much as I want to rely on him—as much as I love having Hop and the others around, I—” her eyes rose to Leon’s face, making him pale with surprise.

There was a terror in her gaze—a horrible sense of betrayal and self-loathing that Leon couldn’t even _begin_ to understand.

“I am not above the consequences,” she breathed, “I-I cannot atone for the mistakes I’ve made—” her voice cracked, and Leon placed a reassuring hand on her trembling wrist.

“I won’t say a word. I promise, Gloria.”

Her grip lessened, and after brushing away a sudden tear, she nodded and let go of him.

Shortly after her outburst, Leon slowly opened the door. Hop was standing in the kitchen, fully dressed, and had a towel around his neck to keep his wet hair from dripping down his back.

“Oh—done already,” he commented lightly, glancing at Gloria.

Gloria nodded, a tiny smile creeping onto her face as she stared emptily at the floor.

Leon grinned, “Finally up brother? You slept like a rock this morning!”

Hop sighed, “Yeah—I did… oops! Guess I had too much fun yesterday…”

Leon laughed joyously and gave Gloria a wink, “Don’t go having _too_ much fun without me—I’ll get lonely! Although right now I’ve actually got to go.” he puffed up his chest, trying to look serious, but it ended up just looking goofy, “I’ve got an important business meeting!”

Hop rolled his eyes, “Sure you do…”

Gloria smiled at their playful banter, but still seemed reluctant to speak.

“Alright then—catch you two later!” he waved, and closed the door behind him as he disappeared outside.

Gloria stood for a minute in Hop’s entryway before mumbling, “I guess I should probably go too…” she started to leave, but Hop stopped her.

“W-wait! Gloria, can we talk for a moment?”

Gloria paused, but then shrugged and followed him into the living room. They both sat down, and Hop offered her some tea that was on the coffee table.

“What do you want to talk to me about?” she asked, taking a cup gently from off of a coaster.

“Well—it… uh…” he paused, thinking for a moment about why he’d stopped her, “I just wanted to chat, I guess! You know… like old times?” he shrugged, “It’s stupid, but I just thought things were so tense, and… I don’t know…”

To his surprise, she smiled at him, “That’s sweet of you,” she chuckled, but he could tell her spirits were still low, “I suppose it _has_ been a while since we’ve chatted like this. Not counting yesterday, of course.”

Hop nodded, “I know—right?” he smiled at her, relieved he was helping her feel better, “Speaking of which… do you want to do something together sometime?”

Gloria looked up, “Right now?”

Hop shrugged, “Well, it doesn’t have to be today, if you don’t want to… but, if you’re ever free, I figured we could hang out or something. I want to make it up to you for ghosting you all these months…” he cringed awkwardly.

Gloria gave him a warm smile as she sipped her tea, “Make it up to me, huh?” she pursed her lips, “You know… I’ve been pretty tense these past few days. It does seem a bit rushed, but… why not?”

Hop grinned excitedly, “Really? Yes! I was worried you’d turn me down…” he let out a sigh, and Gloria laughed.

“And by the way, you can loosen up around me. We’re friends, after all.”

He paused for a moment and a happy smile filled his face, “Yeah. Thank goodness!”

The two sat there for a moment, enjoying each other’s company.

“So… what do you plan on doing for this hang-out session of ours?”

“Well… I don’t know, whatever you want, I guess.”

Gloria clasped her hands together, “A Pokémon battle? It’s been so long!”

Hop winced, “Actually, maybe not… I haven’t battled anyone in a long time—I probably suck.”

“Oh. Well then…” Gloria thought for a moment, “How about we go to Motostoke?”

“Motostoke? What do you want to do there?”

“Motostoke is huge! There’s lots of things to do there!” Gloria defended, excitement entering her voice, “We could check out the parade on Friday, for one, and plus there are lots of shops in the district we can check out.”

Hop grinned, laughing with excitement, “That sounds perfect! Let’s call it a da—” he cut himself off suddenly.

_Date!? Wait—what if she gets the wrong idea!? But hold on, isn’t it normal to say that phrase? Did cutting myself off make that phrase sound suspicious? Shoot what do I say now!?_

“aaay…” he finished strangely, “a _day_ , ha ha…”

Gloria blinked once, but didn’t seem to notice his near slip-up, “Yes! Let’s!” she smiled cheerfully, and for the first time in the past few days, Gloria finally seemed back to normal.


	11. Memory Ten - A “Day” In Motostoke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deciding to take a well-needed siesta, Hop and Gloria go on a "day" (as Hop calls it). They travel together to Motostoke, and explore the arrangement of shops before watching a fantastic evening parade. When it's over, Hop stops Gloria before she goes home so he can tell her something very important.

That Friday, Hop was in the bathroom when he heard a knock downstairs. Realizing it was Gloria, he quickly took one last glance in the mirror before heading down to greet her. Even though Gloria didn’t consider this day a “date”, Hop still felt he should dress as if it were one. Since they both agreed this was a casual meet-up, Hop dressed in a simple, blue and grey jacket, dark sweatpants, and a classic Pokémon shirt. He also bothered to gel his hair, and as he did so, he noticed the back was getting a bit long, so he pulled it back into a short ponytail.

Satisfied, he grabbed his shoes and rushed downstairs to greet Gloria. As his hand reached for the knob, he hesitated for a brief moment.

 _I wonder what she’ll look like,_ he thought, suddenly dazed at the thought of her.

It didn’t last long, however. Catching himself, he shook his head embarrassedly, and opened the door.

Gloria was standing sweetly in the doorway.

“Hey, Hop!” she smiled warmly at him and took off her black sunglasses. Behind those sunglasses, Gloria’s chocolate-brown eyes sparkled gorgeously at him.

“Hey!” he smiled back.

Hop glanced for a moment at Gloria, noticing her clothes. She was wearing a loose, white winter dress, and brown, laced boots that went up to her knees. Resting on her side was a brown satchel (likely containing her Pokémon), and around her neck was a plain, but pretty necklace. She also had on a white sun hat, which was to help conceal her identity from intrusive fans.

Hop blinked, realizing his eyes were hovering too fondly over her exposed collarbone, and managed to tear his gaze away from her—his cheeks hot with embarrassment.

“I’m sorry if I’m too early… we didn’t really specify a time so I just came at three o’clock. I hope that’s okay…” she sighed, touching her cheek gently.

Hop looked back up at her face, “Oh! No—it’s my fault, ha, ha… I should’ve been more specific. Three o’clock is fine.”

Gloria sighed in relief, “I’m glad! I was worried I’d catch you off guard.”

The two chatted for a brief moment before Hop offered they depart for Motostoke.

“The train leaves in about thirty minutes. I think it’d be more convenient to take that then a taxi, so let’s make our way to the station while we still can.”

Gloria nodded, “Sounds great!”

The two continued to chat all the way to the station. When they arrived, they decided to order gâteaux while waiting for the train to show up. As expected, the cake was delicious—even more so than expected.

“I had no idea this was so good!” Gloria laughed.

Hop smiled, “It tastes nostalgic, don’t you think?”

Gloria blinked at him, “How so?”

Hop was surprised that Gloria didn’t remember.

“You don’t remember? We used to get this stuff all the time when we were kids. We’d grab it on the way to school!”

Gloria’s eyes widened in shock, “That’s right! I’ve completely forgotten—it was so long ago…”

Hop’s face softened with sweet nostalgia as he recalled the many times he came to the station with Gloria. Every now and then, the two would get gâteaux from the vendor nearby as they did their homework.

“Over there,” Hop pointed to a table at the edge of the room, “We’d sit over there and do our homework before school so we wouldn’t get in trouble. Sometimes we’d order gâteau and you’d always drop some on your paper.”

“Me?” Gloria wondered. She pouted, but was clearly doing it playfully, “If I remember correctly, _we_ didn’t do our homework— _you_ would copy _mine_.”

Hop nearly choked on the cake as he sputtered, “Crap—I was hoping you’d forget about that!”

Gloria giggled as Hop continued to cough, “You just got cake all over your shirt…”

Swallowing, he looked down and discovered she was right, “Whoops…”

A few minutes later, the train pulled up in the station. Excited, the two of them grabbed window seats and sat down until the train got moving.

“Is it weird that we haven’t rode in this train together since our gym challenge?” Gloria mused thoughtfully, her eyes flitting over to rest on Hop’s face.

He shrugged, “You’ve been busy,” he commented, “and I was stupid enough to not speak to you for two years. We had no reason to take the train together.”

Gloria paused after hearing him say that.

“Do you miss this?” she whispered, almost inaudibly.

Hop blinked, a little startled, and turned to see her eyes sparkling with an unreadable expression. He couldn’t tell if it was mischief, regret, or curiosity, but regardless, he gave his honest answer.

“Of course.” he looked back out the window across from them, his face getting slightly warm, “If I’m being honest, I think this hang-out day is good for both of us. After all—I can finally let go of all my past grudges and frustrations.” he smiled pensively to himself, “It’s kinda nice.”

For a minute or two, neither of them spoke. Nothing but the clanking sound of the tracks filled their ears as they remained silent. The whole time, Hop worried that he’d offended her somehow. She usually wasn’t the type to randomly go silent—unless she was upset.

“I’m glad.” Gloria finally whispered, and he saw a wave of relief enter her face.

When she finally spoke, Hop let out a long huff of relief, “You were quiet so long, I was worried I’d said something wrong… don’t scare me like that!” he laughed nervously, and Gloria’s smile returned much brighter than before.

“I wasn’t mad—I was just thinking. You’re absolutely right Hop—today’s the day we let our grudges go.”

“Nice!” he grinned and held out his fist for her, and after a cute, tension-relieving laugh, she bumped it.

It wasn’t long before the train pulled up to the station. Vigorously, the two jumped off the train and looked around. The station in Motostoke was much larger than the one in Wedgehurst, and so they already had an abundance of activities lying in plain sight.

“Wow they’ve really expanded this place!” Hop whistled, looking around in mild awe.

“How long has it been since you’ve been here?”

“Honestly, not too long… but I’ve never really looked around until now. This was always just an in-between stop that prolonged my wait to get home, so I never cared to actually look at the stores.”

“Typical.” Gloria teased, “You’ve always been a little oblivious, huh?”

“Oi—rude!”

She laughed, but Hop was grinning. As they looked around the station, Gloria’s words echoed back into his head.

_“Do you miss this?”_

_Of course I miss this._ he shook his head as Gloria ran up and down the walkway with over-zealousness, _I just didn’t realize what I was missing until Sonia forced me to see you again. I wonder… if I hadn’t have gone to this year’s league, would I have_ ever _seen you again?_ his smile faltered, _If I hadn’t have gone, I’m sure next year I would’ve been even less likely to go. And if that’s the case, then it’s true—isn’t it? Our friendship would be completely forgotten._

“Hop!” Gloria shouted, and he jumped in surprise.

“What? What is it?”

“You were staring off into space.”

“Oh…” he laughed, “I guess I was, wasn’t I?”

She smiled and shook her head, realizing she had nothing to worry about, “Since when did you become so spacey? Come on—let’s have some fun, okay?”

He nodded, “Yeah! Of course!”

 _Forget about that!_ he scolded himself, _Gloria is in front of you now—enjoy it while it lasts, you blithering idiot!_

Hop ran up to Gloria’s side and approached the shop window she was interested in.

“What’s this place?”

“Merch shop,” she replied, “I didn’t know there was train merch, but it exists apparently!”

“Me either,” the shop vender shrugged, “I only work here because no one else realized this shop was an actual _shop_. Lucky me…”

The two grimaced, feeling a bit sorry for the underpaid teen stuck working at the booth.

“In that case I guess I’ll buy the t-shirt,” Gloria laughed awkwardly, and dished out ₽2,500 out of sympathy.

* * *

The two friends enjoyed each other’s company for the remainder of the day. With plenty of time on their hands, the two made sure to pop their heads into every shop they could find, regardless of what they were selling (that is, unless the shop looked sketchy), and they checked out almost every food stall and attraction Motostoke had to offer. In the evening, sometime around eight o’clock, Hop and Gloria were enjoying Casteliacones at a food stall when suddenly a loud fanfare echoed across Motostoke. The trumpet caught their attentions instantly, and with mouthfuls of ice cream, they both sputtered: “The parade!”

Hop and Gloria hurriedly grabbed their bags and darted towards where the sound came from.

“I think that came from the west side of Motostoke!” Hop panted.

“The side connecting to Route 3!?” Gloria shouted back as the amount of onlookers increased in thickness and volume.

“Yes!”

They kept running until the bridge finally came into view. By the time they could see the parade, the crowd was so thick they had to stand on their tip toes to see over the heads of the people.

“Spread out, spread out!” the lead man with a megaphone yelled, “Hug the edges of the streets, make room for the parade!”

As directed, everyone cleared out of the streets to make way for the massive parade of people and Pokémon that stood just beyond the bridge. As the people moved and pushed to the sidelines, Hop and Gloria could feel themselves drifting apart in the crowd.

“Hop!” Gloria reached out and grabbed his wrist instinctively.

Hop could feel his face redden as her slender fingers twisted firmly around his arm. He almost pulled away out of embarrassment, but there were so many people surrounding them, he had no space to move to.

“What?” he answered finally answered, glancing at her distraught face.

“Just hold on for a minute—we don’t want to get separated.”

As the noise quieted down, Hop and Gloria settled into a front row spot on the edge of the street—though it was rather uncomfortable. Being close to the front meant they were squished next to each other, and though Gloria wasn’t fazed, Hop had trouble keeping his composure when his shoulder was slumped up against his crush’s.

 _Chill out,_ he scolded _, just forget about your feelings for a minute and enjoy the show._

After another minute or so, the trumpets once again roared to life, playing the joyous and upbeat anthem of Galar.

Gloria jumped up and down with excitement, “Oh my gosh this is so cool! Aaah!”

“Careful, careful!” Hop placed his hand on Gloria’s head to prevent her hat from falling off, “You don’t want anyone to spot you in a place like this!” he whispered.

Gloria grimaced, “Oh yeah—whoops!”

Calming down a bit, she reached into her bag and pulled out a Poké Ball.

“I’m still going to let Guii watch though—she deserves it after winning me the league again this year,” she decided, smiling cheerfully as she released her Alcremie in front of her.

“Crem, crem!” Guii cried, a huge, happy smile on her face.

Gloria leaned over, picked up Guii, and held her tightly to her body. Instantly, she buried her nose in the soft, cream-shaped portion of her Pokémon’s head, and Guii hummed affectionately in response.

“We’re going to watch a parade Guii!” Gloria whispered excitedly, a sugary grin on her face, “I wish the others could watch too, but I don’t think there’s enough space for them. It’s too crowded.”

Guii shrugged and muttered a few nonsensical words in response. Gloria interpreted it to be: “I’ll tell them how it went so they don’t miss much.” and she smiled.

Hop’s eyes softened as he watched the two of them chat, _They’re such good partners. Gloria can understand Guii without any problems even though she’s just speaking nonsensical gibberish. I wonder what she’s saying?_

“Hey Hop,” Gloria piped up suddenly, snatching his attention, “You’re studying to be a Pokémon professor, right?”

“Yes, I am!” he grinned, placing a hand proudly on his chest, “Why do you ask?”

Gloria’s sweet smile contorted into a mischievous grin, “I bet you can’t name all the Pokémon in this parade~. If you can’t, you owe me another Casteliacone next time we visit!”

Hop stepped back in surprise, “All of them!? Uh… sure—I can do that! Probably…”

After a short speech, the parade began to march onward. Everyone cheered as the music flared to life, and the dancers spun and twirled close to the crowded edges.

“Here we go!” Gloria shouted over the noise, “Who’s the first one Hop?”

In front, a burly Pokémon with multiple pairs of arms began twirling a set of red batons. It was also wearing a hat that matched those in the marching band, and it had white gloves on.

“That’s Machoke—easy! It’s one of the Pokémon who can Gigantamax, and it’s Bea’s signature as well.”

Gloria raised her eyebrows, “Ah—that was too easy. Of course they’d lead the parade with a recognizable Pokémon like that…”

Hop pointed at the sky, “Also the birds overhead are Corviknight, and down over there by the first float, there are lots of Rookidee.”

Gloria nodded, and the parade marched a few meters forward, bringing new floats, and different varieties of Pokémon as well.

“Over there you’ve got a Boltund, and that one’s a Sableye.”

“Ooh! What’s the blue one over there?” Gloria pointed directly into the float where an array of water type Pokémon were perched.

“The Mareanie?” Hop asked, squinting at the float curiously.

“No! The ones on the edges there.”

Hop looked to the left and spotted what she was looking at, “Oh… goodness—I’ve seen that before… what is it? It’s not native to Galar...”

The Pokémon was small and blue. Its body was extremely round, and in the center of its body was a big, white spot. It also had two big ears and a zig-zag tail.

“I’ll give you a hint. It’s from Johto, and its name starts with an ‘M’.”

“Ooh… it’s—isn’t that, Marill…?” Hop cringed, unsure.

“Yup! That’s a Marill!”

Relieved, he pumped his fist triumphantly, “Yes! That was close… I believe those can be found in the Isle of Armor—which is why I barely recognized it.”

Gloria laughed, and they resumed their game.

“That’s Drampa, that’s Munchlax, that’s—oh cool, a Luxray! Those are in Armor too—very scary to come across in the wild. Oh—and that one there is a Spritzee. Funny—apparently there’s a rumor that Spritzee smells different depending on the person.”

“Really? Is it true?”

“I think there’s some truth to it,” Hop replied thoughtfully, “Sonia and I did an experiment a while back to verify the rumors. We got five Spritzee and gave our opinions on what they smelled like, but we kept getting weird results. For example, the first Spritzee smelled the same to everyone we talked to, but the second Spritzee smelled different to men and women. The third one smelled different for some, but the same for others, the fourth was similar to the third, and the fifth didn’t have a distinct smell at all. So… basically we gave up.”

Gloria chuckled, “Sounds complicated. Funny though… they all smell like strawberries to me.”

“What?” Hop asked, bewildered.

“I’m serious!” she laughed, and Hop just shook his head, “Anyway, back to the game!”

“Right,” he turned back and noticed a ghost-like Pokémon slinking along one of the darker-themed floats.

Gloria’s smile fell instantly, and Hop noticed her flinch when she saw it.

Hop cleared his throat, “Uh… that’s a Mismagius. They’re from Johto—they’re known for their mischievous nature, and they tend to prank people in hopes to feed off of their fear. They can be, um… pretty nasty at times.”

She nodded and shuddered a little bit, “Yeah, I know… I’ve met a few of them before. It was never pleasant…”

Hop stiffened in shock, but said nothing.

As the Pokémon passed, he continued to identify the different species. As he listed them off however, he couldn’t help but notice Gloria had suddenly become disinterested after witnessing the Mismagius from earlier. Though Hop didn’t want to pry, his gut was twisting with worry as he watched her face become paler and paler from deep thought.

 _Was is my description of the Pokémon that unsettled her, or some undisclosed memory?_ he wondered, _Perhaps I should ask… I’m worried prying will upset her, but I have to do something before the parade ends. I wouldn’t want it to end on a bad note…_

“Oi!” he spoke suddenly, making Gloria jump, “You with me?”

She blinked and let out a sigh. After a moment her smile returned, “Yeah. Sorry.”

Hop smiled sadly, “You don’t have to shoulder things by yourself you know. If you have something on your mind, you can let me know.”

She shook her head, “I don’t want to ruin this moment. I’m fine now—really. I just got a little caught in my memories.”

Hop sighed, _So it_ was _a memory… I wonder what she was remembering?_

“Anyways, the parade is almost done so I’ll name off the last few and call it good,” he glanced back over to the parade, “Whimsicott, Ninetales, Pyukumuku, and…” he stopped.

Gloria looked up at the Pokémon leading the back of the parade, realizing Hop was stuck on another one.

“Uh… that’s strange,” he mused, “I’ve never seen that before.”

It was another big Pokémon, like the Machoke that was leading the front. The Pokémon looked somewhat human-like, with a bald head, and massive eyebrows forming a V shape. It’s hands were huge, and it seemed to be wearing baggy pants. Whatever it was, Hop was absolutely clueless.

“You haven’t?” Gloria asked, “I’ve seen that one loads of times. It’s the arm thrust Pokémon.”

Hop shrugged, “I don’t know still…”

“It evolves from Makuhita.”

Hop blinked, hesitated, and put his hand on his forehead in sudden realization, “Oh—oh I’ve heard that name before… what does Makuhita look like?”

Gloria smiled, “Do you give up?”

After another pause, he sighed and shook his head, “I’ve got nothing… what is that Pokémon?”

“It’s a Hariyama. It’s from the Hoenn region, but I caught mine in Alola,” she stopped suddenly, leaving her sentence to trail off.

“You lived in Alola?”

Gloria hesitated. Her eyes fell a bit, lingering once again on a memory out of Hop’s reach.

Hop winced, _I hit a bad spot… I should stop now before I hurt her more—_

“I did,” she finally managed, “but it was a long time ago.”

Hop paused for a moment, rubbed his neck and mumbled, “I know what I said about shouldering things yourself, but if it hurts you this much, you don’t have to tell me. I’m fine with not knowing—”

“No,” Gloria shook her head, “let me finish. I’m fine.”

Her eyes glistened with a sudden fire that stopped Hop from going on. He nodded, and Gloria continued.

“When I lived in Alola, I was a Pokémon trainer for a few years. While I was training, Makuhita was one of the first Pokémon I caught. However…” she stared up at the sky thoughtfully, “after I became champion in Alola… some stuff happened, and all of my Pokémon were confiscated.”

Hop’s heart dropped for a moment, “You _what?_ ” he gawked, “You were the champion of Alola?”

She nodded slowly, “It was short-lived. I no longer hold that title. And don’t worry—I didn’t commit a crime or anything to get my Pokémon confiscated. Instead, I was blamed for something that happened out of my control.” she closed her eyes, “I was a scapegoat.”

Tension filled the air as Hop considered her words. He knew she was telling the truth, but it seemed so far-fetched, it was nearly impossible to grasp what she said.

All he could manage was, “I see…”

At this point, the crowds were starting to disperse. The parade had moved on, and people were going home. Pretty soon, Hop and Gloria would have to part ways too.

“Well… anyway, let’s start wrapping things up.”

Gloria opened her eyes, and after taking a moment to breathe, she was able to smile again, “Sure. It’s getting a little late, isn’t it?”

The two of them turned and started walking towards the Motostoke station. At first, neither of them had much to say.

The first to break the silence, Gloria spoke up: “You owe me a Casteliacone, just so you know.”

Hop glanced at Gloria for a moment and saw a faint smile on her face. He smiled back, “I know.”

Once again, silence returned. Nervous, Hop shoved his hands into his pockets and observed the shop signs.

 _What happens next? This isn’t a date, so do I just see her off? Should I start a conversation to lighten the mood?_ his face got hotter the longer he thought about what to do, _I’ve got to do something before we part ways. Who knows how long it’ll be until we do something like this again?_

Unable to keep his composure, Hop stopped walking. His mind was ablur with rushing thoughts that were making his heart race, and he couldn’t control them. His hands slid out of his pockets and balled up at his sides, trembling with nerves.

“Are you okay?” Gloria asked, stopping to look at him.

Startled out of his momentary daze, he met her eyes. For a moment he just stared at her, but after a second or two he turned his head to the side, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Did you have fun today?” he managed.

Taken aback, Gloria blinked a few times before uttering: “Yes! Of course I had fun. Did you?”

Hop stiffened, “I mean—I _did_ , don’t get me wrong, but…” his voice trembled on the last word.

Gloria waited patiently, staring deeply into his face with her beautiful eyes.

_I can’t. I have to… I have to tell her._

He started again, “Gloria. I’m going to be honest with you… I invited you here mostly because I sorta… considered this to be a d-date,” he stuttered, cleared his throat, and continued, “I know what you said about the whole train-thing being an accident, but I was kind of hoping—just a little bit, that you were actually, yanno… interested in going out with me?”

Hop’s chest vibrated with each word. He could feel his hands clamming up as the words slipped over his tongue into Gloria’s ears. Blinking a few times, he turned and looked Gloria in the eyes, his head tilted to the left and his hand rubbing his neck nervously.

“The point is… I think I like you Gloria.”

He saw her expression change slowly. The smile on her face faltered for a moment, and for a brief second he thought he could see her natural eyes hidden beneath her contact lenses. She blinked, and small tears sprung into view. Her face flushed with embarrassment as she brought her hands up to touch her cheeks.

 _I messed up…_ Hop realized. He leaned back a bit, bracing for her response.

“Ah…” she whispered, “Here I was, worried you weren’t having fun. I didn’t expect—”

Her eyebrows knitted as she tried to comprehend Hop’s words. She didn’t know how to respond.

“You like me?” she mumbled, sending a rush through Hop’s veins.

“I do,” he answered firmly, “and it’s not just because of what you did that day—I think I’ve liked you for a long time, I just didn’t realize…” he trailed off again, “It’s okay. I knew you probably didn’t feel the same way. You _did_ text me about it—”

“I was only worried that you _didn’t_ like me, and if my action was making you uncomfortable! That’s why I told you to forget about it—I-didn’t-want-you-to-get-mad-at-me-for-kissing-you-and-I-didn’t-want-you-to avoid-me-so-I-apologized-just-to-make-sure—and-and-I’m… um!” she stopped, face very red now.

Then she shook her head violently and shouted: “I like you too Hop!”

Hop choked. His heartbeat shot up to the point he could hear it beating in his head and in his arms. Nearly losing his balance, he staggered and covered his face with his right hand.

“What!? Really!?” he stopped himself, “I mean—” he sighed, “Th-thank goodness…”

Gloria laughed, but sounded a bit hoarse as she did so. She seemed just as startled as he was that the words had fallen out of her mouth. Perhaps even a bit _too_ startled.

“If I’da known you liked me sooner, I wouldn’t have tried so hard to excuse my behavior,” Gloria answered bashfully.

They both laughed for a minute as they caught their breath.

“So… what happens now?” Hop asked, still flushed, but overall recovered.

“Well—honestly…” Gloria hesitated, “I do want to say something first. Um… it’s going to be difficult g-going out with me because of the paparazzi always biting my heels, so expect some struggling here-and-there. And—also…”

Gloria paused and then looked Hop dead in the eyes.

“The truth is… there’s someone else that I like.”

Hop’s heart almost stopped.

“Thing is though—I like you too, I think. But it might take some time for me to _really_ like you… you know? We’ve spent all our time as good friends, it’ll be difficult seeing you as something… deeper than that. So next time we do something together…” she glanced at her shoes, “Maybe pick a place a little more… formal? J-just so I can get used to the idea of the two of us dating—if that makes sense?”

Hop swallowed hard and nodded, “S-sure! I understand.”

_I get the whole formal-date thing, but who’s the other guy you’re interested in!? Should I prod her about it?_

There a brief pause between the two of them before they both let out a long-needed sigh. Though Hop was now paranoid of his possible competition, he was glad Gloria was willing to accept his confession for the time being. Smiling brightly at each other, both faces red, they headed back towards Motostoke station.

Hop didn’t remember much of the conversation they had on the way back. He was too busy feeling jittery to focus on Gloria’s words, but he did his best.

“This is it,” Gloria pointed at a sign overhead.

The sign read: 9:47 Wyndon, platform 3, ON TIME. It was currently 9:45, meaning Gloria had to hurry on if she didn’t want to be late.

“Well, I’ve got to go back to Wyndon now,” she smiled shyly at Hop, and he nodded quietly in response.

“Sure. Get home safe.”

“You too.”

Giving him one last glance, she stepped onto the steps and started to enter the train, but stopped seconds before.

“Forgot something?” he asked.

She turned around, hopped off the steps, and quickly planted a kiss on his cheek.

“S-see you later!” she stammered, and disappeared into the train.

For a moment he stood there flustered, but after a second’s pause, a mischievous grin spread across his face as he yelled back to her: “Oi! What’s with you and giving kisses on trains!? This won’t become a reoccurring gag, will it!?”

She stuck her tongue out at him from the window, and Hop laughed. Despite the fact that he was now stepping into a relationship, he couldn’t keep his childhood friend antics from seeping into his attitude. Within a minute, the train started moving. As it moved, Gloria waved goodbye to Hop, and slowly crept farther and farther out of his sight. When she was finally gone, Hop took a seat and recalled the recent events.

He was embarrassed, but overjoyed at the same time. However, as he sat, he felt strongly that he was forgetting something important. Suddenly, memories of his conversation with Bede reappeared into his head, putting his cheerfulness to a halt.

 _Oh yeah…_ he realized, _I’ve got to put up with Bede still. That, and Gloria’s possible_ other _crush, who could show his face at any time…_

But then the grin returned. Gloria already accepted his feelings, and even given him a kiss on the cheek before running off. Bede had already lost!

_Ha! Take that Bede! You might’ve been able to steal my victories, but at least you can’t steal my girlfriend!_


	12. Memory Eleven - It's Different

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Though dizzy from the realization her hang-out with Hop was actually a date, Gloria, for whatever reason, decides to call Bede right after she arrives at her hotel. Pressured by a sudden jitteriness inside of herself, she confesses something very special to Bede, and meets up with him the next morning.

Inside of Wyndon’s prestigious five-star hotel, Gloria lay awake staring at the moonlit ceiling. With her Rotom phone hovering in the air on speakerphone, she spoke with a calm softness to her voice.

“Hey, how’s it going?” a male voice responded.

“Fine. As always,” her eyes squinted a bit as a joyful smile crept onto her face, “I just got back from a date with Hop.”

There was a brief pause from the other end before the voice returned, bewildered and frustrated, “What!? Tch! That runt… trying to best me after our stupid conversation—”

Gloria laughed, “Why’re you so mad, Bede? I’ve been on dates with other people and it didn’t bother you then.”

“Hop’s different,” he growled, “You might actually consider holding onto him.”

Her face reddened a bit, surprised he cared about something like that, “You know, we didn’t originally call it a date. We were just hanging out, but he confessed that he liked me before I went home.”

“What was your response?” Bede asked, trying to hide the annoyance in his voice.

“I basically said I could end up liking him, if I gave it time.”

Bede paused, “What’s that supposed to mean? Do you like him or not?”

“Thing is,” Gloria mulled about her response for a moment, “I like Hop, but mostly because we’re good friends. I told him to take me somewhere formal next time so we could act more like a couple, but…” she paused, “I’m a little worried, to be honest with you.”

“What’re you worried about?”

“It’s just… as much as I enjoy being with Hop, I like someone else. And I’m worried those feelings will get in the way of us dating.”

From the other end, Gloria heard a muffled sigh of relief.

“What’s the sigh for?” she asked. Her heart fluttered as she rolled onto her stomach, her curiosity burning into her chest.

“What?” he hesitated, “Nothing… nothing at all.”

She chuckled, her sweet laugh floating through the speakers and singing into Bede’s ears.

“I thought there was more to it than _nothing_.”

“Well no…” he paused, “But I’m not sure if now’s a good time to say…”

“Say what?” Gloria sat up as she stared at Bede’s contact picture.

“No—you just got back from a date with Hop. It wouldn’t be fair—”

“Do you like me too, Bede?”

Silence filled the speakers.

Gloria’s own heartbeat was a jackhammer as she stared at her phone.

Then his voice finally broke the pause.

“I-I mean… well…” he hesitated, “but it’s not—I don’t—” he sighed, “You’re so mean, Gloria…”

Her eyes sparked, reflecting grey moonlight onto the walls. Her mouth opened slightly as she listened carefully.

“Fine… I guess I do like you a little bit…”

“Say it louder. I can’t hear you.”

He raised his voice, “I like you.”

“I still can’t quite—”

“For Arceus’ sake Gloria, how many times—look, I LIKE YOU, okay!? Stop making me say it…”

As he stumbled through his words, Gloria could hear him turn away from the receiver out of embarrassment.

She didn’t respond. As the moon passed across her window, the light moved and lit up her entire face, revealing the heavy blush across her cheeks.

“Cool,” she whispered.

Bede turned back, “What? What kind of a response—”

“Nothing. I like you too Bede.”

Bede stopped for a moment, “Wait—what about Hop? I thought you just said you liked—”

“I told you there was someone else that could’ve gotten in the way, who do you think I meant?” she whispered, “I like both of you, I guess. Is that not okay for now?”

There was a brief silence, “I mean… I’d rather you like both of us than just Hop… but don’t let the public know—they’ll tear you apart for something like this.”

“Screw them. I like both of you—it’ll be my decision who I choose in the end, and that’s that.”

“I see…” he paused, “but then… when you say you like me, is it equal to how you see Hop? You know… like an old friend?”

Gloria stiffened and placed a hand over her chest, “What a strange question…”

She left an uncomfortable pause, nearly making Bede dismiss his question, but before he could, she finally gave her response.

“This is a different feeling. I know that much.”

After one last silence, the two finally closed their conversation.

“…I’ll catch you tomorrow, I guess. I want to talk some more,” Gloria added.

“That’s fine by me. Just don’t come while I’m working, I suppose…” he paused, “Goodnight Gloria.”

“Goodnight.”

She hung up.

For a moment, Gloria sat in silence, kneeling in the moonlight as it bathed her face in a cold glow. She was breathing deeply and quickly, as if the mere act of speaking had drained the energy from her in the way a marathon would. Her face was pinker than her pyjamas—so pink, it reached her ears and chin. Her vision fazed in and out repeatedly, until her spine buckled and she curled into a ball on her mattress—hand clutching her ricocheting heart.

 _Why did he have to ask that?_ she squeezed her eyes shut, _What is the difference? Do I really…_

 _Do I really like him? Do I really like_ either _of them?_

* * *

The next afternoon, Gloria travelled over to Ballonlea without any thought. Dressed in her usual sunhat and shades, she strode across the sidewalk and entered the front doors of the gym. She glanced around the room. It was a normal day at the gym, though slightly less busy than usual. As she approached the front desk, she lowered her shades.

“Can I see Bede?” she asked quietly, trying not to draw attention to herself.

The woman at the desk nodded, “He’s a little busy with his morning routine, but if you need to see him he’s in the training room. Go in that door, straight down the hall and turn left.”

Gloria nodded, “Thank you ma’am.”

As directed, she opened the side door and walked into the trainer’s prep lobby. On the way in, she caught bits of two onlooker’s conversations.

“Is that the Champion?” one whispered.

“I think so. She comes here a lot, doesn’t she?” the other responded.

“I wonder why… do you think she has a thing for Bede?”

The other one laughed, “I doubt it. I think they’re just friends. After all—they used to hate each other, didn’t they?”

Gloria closed the door before she could hear any more. Pausing with her hand on the knob, she trembled in slight rage for a moment before proceeding to the end of the room. Without hesitation, she exited into a long hallway and turned left. There were a few various rooms that branched off, but she went towards the double-doors on the far side.

“Put your back into it!” she heard Opal shout.

Shortly after, she heard Bede yelling in painful response.

 _What are they doing in there?_ she wondered.

Then she shrugged and went inside. It was an odd scene to behold. Opal had a whistle around her neck, but other than that, she was dressed normally. Bede, on the other hand, was wearing his fairy uniform, and had a towel draped over his shoulders. From what Gloria could tell, he was trying to lift a set of 10 kilogram weights (30 if you include the bar), but couldn’t get it even a centimeter off of the ground. She smiled and shook her head.

 _Leon was right—she_ is _trying to get Bede to build muscle. Good luck with that…_

Gloria waved to Bede from across the room, a mischievous grin on her face. As she waved, Bede noticed her in his peripheral, and whipped his head around to look at her—shocked and embarrassed.

“W-what!? Gloria!? When did you ge—”

“Oi! I don’t remember saying you could rest, Bede!”

He turned back to Opal with a look of horror on his face.

“But Gloria—”

“I don’t care! We’re not done until you lift this over your head!”

Gloria sat down on a bench and decided to watch while she waited for Bede to finish. Bewildered, Bede glared back down at the weights.

 _Ugh—why did Gloria have to show up!? I can’t have her see me like this!_ he hesitated, _I guess my only option is to do as Opal says and get this training over with…_

Wiping his hands on his pants, he cracked his knuckles, and attempted to lift the weight set again. Straining his arms, he managed to slowly pull the set off of the ground and balance the weight on his collar bone. It was brief, but he had done as Opal directed.

Mildly impressed, Gloria stood up and clapped while Opal simply nodded.

“Well done,” she nodded, satisfied, “Go ahead and resolve whatever business you have with Gloria. We’re finished for today.” before leaving, she gave Gloria a curt nod, “Take care of this insolent boy, would you? He needs some extra motivation in his life.”

Opal flicked Bede a mischievous grin, making him curse sourly in his head before she finally exited the room—two Macro Cosmos members following closely behind her. After she left, Gloria and Bede were left standing alone in the gym.

“She’s really pushing you, isn’t she?” Gloria commented, smiling as usual.

Bede scowled, “You caught me at the end—I was just tired. Any other day I’d lift that no problem.”

She laughed, “Sure, sure. I’ll take your word for it.”

He shook his head and stole his water bottle from the ground, hiding his embarrassment as he drank from it.

“So why’d you come here?” Bede asked, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand when he’d finished drinking.

Gloria paused, “I don’t know… I just wanted to.”

He raised an eyebrow, “Oh? That’s unusual…” he paused, wondering why she’d so arbitrarily appear at the gym, “Normally I’d suppose you came out of friendship, but Wyndon isn’t a close distance. Are you here because of our conversation last night?”

Gloria sucked in her lips guiltily, “I mean… say what you want…”

Bede smirked and shook his head, “Fine then, let’s go out.”

Gloria blinked and whipped her head up in stunned surprise, “Huh?”

For a solid minute, the two of them stared at each other. Gloria’s face was red with stunned embarrassment, but Bede was simply confused.

_Wait—what did I say again?_

He thought over his word choice, and then his eyes widened in surprise. Before he could dwell on his mistake, he rubbed his neck awkwardly and corrected himself.

“…as in—let’s go out of the room. Not—you know.”

Gloria stood there awkwardly for a moment before bursting into an awkward laugh.

“O-oh… for a moment I thought you were just being extremely _forward_ …”

He rolled his eyes at her insinuation, and the two left the room without another thought. Neither of them said much as they proceeded down the hall and exited into the prep room.

“If we’re going to talk for a bit, I think I’ll stop for a shower first,” Bede spoke up, pointing at the locker room with his thumb.

“Okay,” Gloria shrugged, “Want to meet me at Stow-on-Side? There’s a nice drink shop on the corner. We can get something and chat for a bit.”

Bede thought about it for a moment.

“Sounds good to me,” he nodded, “I’ll be quick. I’m quite curious what all of this is about.”

Gloria shifted her feet and blinked a few times, “Yeah… me too, I guess.”

Secretly adoring her sudden timidness, he flashed a quick smile and shook his head, “I’ll let Opal know I need the day off then, in case she’s expecting me back. I’d rather not get scolded today—you know how she is.”

Gloria’s face lit up with a grin, “Thanks Bede! I’ll catch you there!”

He nodded, “Sure. See you in a bit.”

* * *

At a table in the far back corner of the diner, Gloria sat drinking a cup of Boba tea. Her quiet eyes stared off into the corners of the room, not landing on anyone’s faces. She was in deep thought. Suddenly Hop’s face returned to her mind from yesterday, his neat hair glinting vividly in the yellow glow of Motostoke’s streetlights.

 _He gelled his hair yesterday,_ she realized, _did he do that because he likes me?_

She thought about that for a moment. It was only natural for Hop to like her at _some_ point—but why did it have to happen now of all times? Gloria bit her lip as a thought came to her. Hop was a nice boy that she liked hanging out with. They were basically the equivalent of childhood friends before their gym challenge, but when she became champion, work separated the two across the Galar region. For two entire years, she rarely spoke to him, and in his place she hung out with Marnie and Bede.

Her mind wandered back to the call she made to Bede yesterday.

 _Why did I call him, anyway?_ she wondered.

Gloria remembered walking into her hotel at ten o’clock, tired and ready to sleep. However, at some point, she grabbed her phone, dialed Bede’s number, and recounted her date with Hop. There was no reason for her to do that, yet for some reason, she _really_ wanted him to know about it. She tried to remember her reasoning for calling his number, but nothing came to mind except for her emotions at the time she called. There was a rush in it—a gunshot pounce of her heart as she punched his number in, and an excited feeling of anxious anticipation as she waited for him to pick up.

_“Nothing. I like you too Bede.”_

Her heart dropped, _D-did I really say that last night?_

“Hello? You there?”

Gloria blinked and noticed Bede standing across from her, waving his hand through her vision.

She laughed, “Apparently not!”

Bede smiled and took a seat across the table.

“So what’s this all about?” he asked, getting straight to the point.

Gloria straightened, unsure of herself, “I’m not sure… honestly, I just wanted to see you…” her voice trailed off, and she shook her head.

“Once again, how unlike you,” he mused, “Does any of this have to do with you calling me at ten o’clock last night?”

Gloria blushed and took a sip of her tea to avoid answering. Noticing her obvious timidness, Bede rolled his eyes. She was trying to avoid responding out of embarrassment.

He cleared his throat.

“Bede~ do you like me too?” he piped up suddenly, his voice in a high falsetto.

Her gaze widened and her attention snapped instantly to his face. He’d placed his hands under his chin like a love-struck anime girl, and seemed to be attempting Gloria’s Unovian accent. He was making fun of her from last night.

“B-because I think I like you too—but in a _different_ way than Hop!”

Gloria choked on her drink instantly, spewing pink tea across the table.

Red-faced and sputtering for air, she gasped, “B-Bede—how could you!?”

He cackled from across the table, laughing so hard he nearly tipped out of his chair.

“I never said that, you jerk! Y-you’re the one who confessed to me anyway—you have no right to poke fun at what I said!”

Still hysterical, Bede leaned his head into his right arm and pounded on the table with his left hand. There were tears in his eyes as his laughter continued to echo inside the small café.

“I’m dying!” he coughed, his face red as a tomato. He was grinning.

Re-gaining her composure, Gloria suddenly put on a sour face and shouted in a crude, Galarian accent: “Oi! Bede my boy! You ain’t leaving this room until you lift that bar clear over your head!”

Bede’s laugh fell as a comical look of regret filled his face.

Gloria raised her arm as if holding an invisible cane, “Come on sonny, move those scrawny arms—at this rate _my_ grandma could lift more than you!”

Bede started waving his hands around in embarrassment, “Oi—oi! I was just messing with you—you don’t have to go and do that Gloria! And she never said _that,_ you liar! Plus your fake accent is making my ears bleed…”

Gloria smiled, satisfied but still a little flushed.

“Very well,” she finished, “it’s a draw then.”

After a brief moment of silence, the two were able to finally catch their breath and loosen up.

“Thanks Bede,” Gloria smiled warmly all of a sudden, “I was really nervous, but somehow you were able to make me laugh.”

He shrugged, “I’d rather not spend too much time with the mushy stuff… I was just rushing through the awkwardness.”

“So… what does all of this mean then?” Gloria glanced at him. He was looking away from her, but she could see his face was still red with embarrassment.

“You dated Hop the other day, didn’t you? That means it’s my turn now.”

She straightened up, surprised, “O-oh. So then earlier—you kind of meant it, didn’t you? About the two of us going out and stuff… but isn’t it a bit soon?”

He gave her a sideways glance, “Not interested in me?”

She blinked, “No that’s not what I—”

Smirking, he flicked her forehead, “I know, I know. I’m just messing with you again.”

She sighed, letting her heartbeat relax a bit. Her mind was buzzing with the possibility of going out with Bede, and it made her smile a little. She’d always wanted to get to know him in new ways, but he acted so closed-off it was hard to get through to him most days.

“Let’s do something then,” he said, standing up.

“R-right now?”

He shrugged, “We don’t have to if you don’t want to. We can always hang out another day—I just figured I have today off now, so…”

She hesitated for a moment, chewing her cheek, “Wouldn’t it make Hop mad though? After all, I just went to the parade with him…”

Bede thought for a moment, humming in curiosity, “Would it?”

He blinked, grinned, and whipped out his phone.

“Let’s see… do I have Hop’s number?”

Gloria jumped out of her seat, “What are you doing!? Bede—are you crazy!?”

He grinned, searching through his contact list, “If it’s not here he must be listed under ‘blocked numbers’…”

Flustered, Gloria tried to steal Bede’s phone out of his hands, but he was a head taller than her so it was easy to keep it out of her reach. Furious, she reached up with her palms, desperately trying to grab the phone, but she was just a little too short. The highest she could reach was his forearm.

“Beeeede!”

He continued to smirk for a moment, but after a few seconds of fighting for the phone, his eyes caught some of the other people in the café. Many were staring.

“Gloria you’re making a spectacle of yourself—calm down.”

“Not until you give me that!” she stood up on her tiptoes and reached as high as she could.

At this point Bede couldn’t even reach it himself to type anymore, so there wasn’t much purpose in keeping the phone out of her reach. He stood there, sighing to himself as Gloria struggled, but then realized how close she was standing to him. Her chin was level with his as she gazed upward, and she was so close he could smell her lily-scented perfume. He glanced at her warily, his eyes darting around the loose collar of her shirt. Then she straightened once again, and her chest momentarily brushed against his collarbone. A shock of embarrassment shot through him, making his arm tremble and his spine melt into a slouch.

“Uh… cut it out, I’m done.”

She glanced at him, looked around at the people in the café, and suddenly became aware of the scene she was making.

“Sorry…” she mumbled.

Her face reddened and she took a wary step back, placing a hand over her mouth with embarrassment.

Bede sighed, “If it’s such a big deal to you, I won’t tell Hop.”

Gloria smiled faintly, “Leave that to me, okay? You might end up making him cry or something. The two of you still don’t get along well…”

He nodded, face still bright red, “Regardless, are you up for anything? Today or tomorrow, or sometime later this week?”

Gloria thought about it for a moment. She didn’t want to make Hop upset, but at the same time she didn’t have to tell him anything more than “I dated Bede”. She was sure he would understand if she told him how she wanted to pick between the two of them—as long as she didn’t tell him she dated Bede _the day after_ she dated Hop.

“Well… I have to date _both_ of you if I want to make a proper choice, don’t I?”

Bede nodded, a little too willingly, “Yes, of course! So then you owe me a date, don’t you?”

She held her breath for a moment, glanced at him, and let out a long sigh.

“Fine!” she straightened up suddenly, startling Bede a little, “Let’s do something!”

Bede smiled warmly at her, “Brilliant! Where to then?”

Gloria mulled about it for a moment, “I’m not sure… hmm…” after a moment of thinking, she punched her fist into her open left hand, “Let’s decide over a short walk!”


	13. Memory Twelve - All Wishes at Once

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mysterious professor paces around his lab, analyzing various notes about a girl and her associated mythical Pokémon.

The room was dark and had a metallic smell. A tall man wearing a long, black lab coat paced around the room quietly as he waited for his secretary to show up. To his left, an associate was sitting at a nearby table, drinking coffee.

“Do you think she remembers what happened at Hammerlocke yet?” the associate asked, glancing over at the professor.

He hesitated, “I don’t believe she ever _forgot_ what happened that night,” he mused, “Rather, she does a good job at _pretending_ she forgot.”

The associate nodded, “I had a feeling that’s what was happening.”

He took a sip of his coffee and glanced over at the man’s ditto which was sleeping nearby.

“Are you worried she’ll tell the police what’s happening?”

The tall man smiled and eyed his employee, “She might say a few things. After I arrange another meeting with her, however, she’ll stay silent for as long as I need her to. After all, I have exactly what she wants. If she disobeys, I’ll put her in her place.”

The associate swallowed hard and glanced at his clipboard which he had lying on the table next to him. An array of complicated notes had been scribbled down. There were several diagrams and complex formulas describing a single image in the front, and on the bottom left there was a picture of a mythical Pokémon.

“Let me see your notes,” the professor said, swiping the clipboard from off the table.

He nodded several times before dropping the clipboard into the associate’s lap.

“Where is Jirachi being kept right now?”

“The fifth ward, sir…” he responded.

He nodded, “I’m going to check something.”

The man took a green tag out of his pocket. Written on it were the words: “Please save my child and cure her of all illnesses.” They seemed to have been written hurriedly—as if the writer was desperate or panicked. He smiled at the letters, recognizing the handwriting.

“We’ve come too far to leave you behind, my little shooting star.”

Turning on his heel, the professor strode through the hallway and turned into a room on the right side. Inside, there were several computers, each stationed by one person. The people were wearing long, dark cloaks and had masks covering their mouths. Their hands were gloved, and their postures were all equally hunched over. A Hypno lay in the corner of the room, resting lazily on a cushioned table as its pendulum moved back and forth. The room was lit by Litwick who were silently patrolling around the room.

When the professor entered, all attention was turned to him.

“You,” he pointed at a woman sitting nearby.

She stood up.

“What’s the status of this thing? Is it asleep?”

She nodded, “We’re lucky it didn’t escape us at Hammerlocke.”

“Of course,” he turned to the Pokémon quietly.

Jirachi was sleeping inside of a glass box with a constant rain of sleep powder falling overhead. It wasn’t waking up anytime soon.

“Still has two more wishes, correct?”

She nodded, “That’s correct, sir.”

“Interesting… then does that mean Jirachi rescued Gloria by its own will?”

The woman shrugged, “It appears that way. I believe it was likely instinctual, judging the girl’s relation to this Pokémon.”

“Fair enough,” he turned away from the woman, “You may sit down.”

The professor continued to stare at Jirachi, his eyes focused on its stomach. There was a small indent on its stomach where a third eye was kept closed. Whenever the eye opened, it was supposed to make a wish come true. On the top spire of its head, there was an empty spot where a third tag was supposed to be, but it was inside of the professor’s pocket.

After another moment of looking, he left the room and continued down the hall. Just beyond him, there was a massive, dome-shaped room that stretched hundreds of feet up. Massive bulbs towered up towards the ceiling, similar to the ones located in Hammerlocke’s powerplant.

A sign nearby indicated the room was called: “The Center Reactor”, but it appeared to be under maintenance. Hammers echoed through the air as both people and Pokémon constructed the building’s interior.

While the tall man observed his creation, a sudden ruckus from the hallway behind him caught his attention. Four employees were holding a large, brawny man in a tight hold, and the man was struggling to escape, but his wrists were tied behind his back.

The professor turned and a smile spread across his face, “Ah! If it isn’t Professor Mohn! How nice of you to join me!”

The man glared at him, momentarily halting his struggle as he was escorted into the room.

“I didn’t join anyone,” he grunted, his low, Alolan accent booming through everyone’s ears, “I was dragged here quite forcefully.”

The professor clasped his hands together and laughed, “Oh I’m very sorry, Mohn sir—my employees didn’t mean to be so harsh. In fact, I mean to welcome you! After all, it’s _your_ research that brought us here! Along with the funding from your beautiful wife, of course.”

Mohn blinked in confusion, “My what? I don’t know what you’re talking about! And research? I’m just a humble caretaker trying to look after other people’s Pokémon!”

The man smiled, “Hmm, but you’re so much more than that, good sir! Perhaps you don’t remember _now_ , but I’m sure it’ll come back to you very soon.”

He glanced at his men and nodded towards the hall.

“Go take him to our Gothitelle and jog his memory. Research is useless without the researcher, after all.”

Mohn continued to shout as the four men pulled him back down the hallway. His yells faded as they shut him inside of a room, and the professor went back to his duties.

“Soon,” he smiled to himself, “So, so soon.”

He closed his eyes and thought back to the very beginning of his projects. There he was—a young man, researching old tablets and engravings, searching desperately for answers. Hours and hours of studies piled on his back as he pursued a way to save the universe.

_There are so many flaws in this world… if only I could fix them all at once. Wouldn’t that be grand?_

In all of his studies, no Pokémon was as intriguing as Jirachi was. With the ability to grant wishes, he could think of no one more suited to solve the great problem of the universe. It was down to a matter of execution now—how to not just grant three wishes per thousand years, but _all_ wishes, all at once.

 _I just need to get_ her _back, and I can finally move forward with my plan._

His shooting star, his perfect child—Jirachi’s twin sister. She was the key to granting every wish, but he just didn’t know how to get her back on his side. After all, she hated him with her whole being—especially after what he’d done to her family in the past.

There were so many important puzzle pieces that needed to be put together before the project could commence. Completing the reactor, collecting Jirachi’s twin, and answering his biggest conundrum yet: how to grant paradoxical wishes. Once all this was taken care of, he knew he’d be more than capable of re-writing the world.

“Professor Flanders!”

He turned around and smiled.

“Yes?”

His associate had come running into the room to see him. He was exhausted and had a worried look on his face.

“I just got the news. Apparently Wicke is investing a branch here in Galar—to help the police search for us.”

The man revealed to be professor Flanders, stood up straighter and hummed with curiosity, “Let them come,” he smiled, “They’re too late anyway. I already have what I need.”

The associate nodded, “I won’t send an alert then. Still—do you recommend placing spies?”

“Sure. Gather some people to go and investigate, but not to interfere.”

He nodded again and left the room.

Flanders stared at his great creation with wonder, “How childish. Know your place, Aether. It’s too late for you anyway. By now, I’ve basically already won.”

And with that, he tossed his lab coat behind him and left the room in silence.


	14. Memory Thirteen - Acting Casually

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gloria and Bede decide to go on a date, despite Gloria having just barely returned from one with Hop the day before. After ice cream, they stop at an arcade to play video games—but on their way out, it begins to snow. As a result, Gloria decides to visit Bede's house until the snow stops.

Bede and Gloria walked next to each other down the brick path of Stow-on-Side, both of them eating ice cream. After a short walk, they’d decided to just go ahead and have a date. They figured they might as well, since Opal had already given Bede the clear, and he had no idea when his next day off would be.

Regardless, they were both antsier than ever before. Knowing this was a date suddenly made all of their interactions very uncomfortable. As Gloria nibbled her ice cream, she glanced quietly at Bede so she could study his face.

He was staring straight ahead, his violet eyes focused on the space in front of him. His hair, though recently combed, was askew from the outside temperature, and his right hand was crammed stiffly into his pocket. She could tell he was nervous—but as she continued to study his face, she couldn’t seem to peel her eyes away from him.

 _He’s very photogenic… isn’t he?_ she realized.

Bede feeling her eyes on him, reddened with embarrassment until finally asked: “What?”

“Eh?” she blinked, suddenly realizing what she was doing, and quickly looked back away, “Oh—it’s nothing! I uh… thought I saw something on your face is all.”

“Ah.” he rubbed his mouth, worried he’d smeared ice cream on it, but of course there was nothing there.

 _Goodness… the atmosphere is so different with Bede than with Hop,_ she thought quietly, _I can’t seem to relax with Bede around. I mean—we’re always fairly professional around each other. Granted, we’re friends, so we have moments of silliness every now and then, but seeing him dressed in normal clothes and hanging out with me like this… it’s somehow different._

Suddenly Bede sighed, making Gloria look back up at him.

“Something wrong?”

He shrugged, “I don’t know, Gloria… it’s just—suddenly it’s really difficult to relax, you know? Maybe we… shouldn’t have done this.”

Shocked, Gloria shook her head firmly, “What!? No! I want to do this! It’s just—” she inhaled deeply and let out a long, quivering breath, “We need to get over our nerves first is all.”

“Oh. You’re saying you’ve been quiet this whole time because you were nervous?”

She nodded, “I figured you felt the same.”

“I was quiet because you were quiet!” he sighed frustratedly, “And here I thought you’d changed your opinion about me, or something…”

“What made you think that?” Gloria laughed, “I wouldn’t just leave you hanging after our conversation last night. I meant what I said you know!”

Relieved, Bede relaxed his shoulders, “Well if you’re just nervous, I know a pretty good place to fix that,” Bede pointed down the street at a bustling arcade, “Down the street there is an arcade. I go there sometimes when I’ve got nothing else to do. Do you like games?”

Stunned he didn’t already know her answer, Gloria nodded eagerly, “Are you kidding!? I love them! It’s been a while, but I played all the time when I lived at home—heck I even owned a Nintendo Switch!”

“Guess this place’ll suit you well then,” he grinned.

Feeling a little more relaxed, Bede and Gloria entered the arcade. Both of them were dressed in ways that stood out less to the public so they wouldn’t attract attention. Before they’d begun their date, Bede ran back home to change into a simple, grey sweater and skinny jeans, while Gloria remained dressed the way she was—her long-sleeved winter dress, leggings, and sunhat/sunglasses disguise.

The place was pretty small, but bustling with games. As they looked around, they saw all kinds of classic consoles, first person shooters, and other miscellaneous simulators. There was even a VR setup near the back. Eagerly, Gloria ran up to the front counter and spoke to the man in front.

“Nice place!” she complimented.

The manager grunted. He was large, and had a toothpick sticking out of his teeth.

“Is there a VIP pass?” Gloria asked curiously.

He glanced at her, trying to identify who she was, “No. This place is tiny—why n’ eath woul’ we have a VIP pass?”

She shrugged, “Just making sure.”

Bede stepped closer and looked at the prices on the billboard. It was a little spendy, but the two of them had plenty of money to spare. The man recognized Bede and straightened up a bit.

“Oh. Welcome back gym lea’er Bede,” he nodded, “If it’s _you_ , I can give ya’ a bit of a discount—to make up fa’ not havin’ a VIP pass or whateva’. But I’ll have to charge normal fa’ ya’ lady friend.”

Bede glowered at him and raised an eyebrow at Gloria. He was about to defend her, but Gloria interrupted him.

“That’s fine! Thank you for the offer—we’ll go ahead and take it.”

Bede blinked incredulously at her, “What?” he hissed, “Gloria—you’re the _champion_ , you deserve the discount more than I do!”

“I don’t want to attract attention in a place like this,” she whispered back, “Let’s just pay and play, alright?”

He rolled his eyes and took out a debit card. After waiting a moment for the transaction, the man handed Bede a receipt and nodded towards the arcade. Grinning excitedly, Gloria rushed into the open room and started looking at all of the games.

“Look at all this stuff!” she exclaimed, excitement hiding behind her voice, “I mean—I played this when I was a kid!”

Bede smiled and shook his head, “I genuinely had no clue you were into videogames...”

She whipped around, her chocolate eyes glittering with passion, “Are you kidding!? I’m obsessed with them!”

Bede laughed heartily for the first time since they’d started their date, “Ha! You’re just like a kid, aren’t you? I don’t think I’ve seen you so excited before.”

A pleasant smile spread across Gloria’s face as she heard him laugh, “About time I made you laugh. You’ve been stiff since we got here.”

The two of them had fun playing the various games the arcade had to offer. Gloria was drawn to many of the eight-bit classics, while Bede was more interested in the simulators. After a bit of exploring, however, Gloria eyed a large system console equipped with two seats and a pair of plastic rifles.

“Hey look, it’s one of those immersive consoles,” she pointed curiously.

“Oh. I’ve never played anything like this before,” Bede said, taking a closer look at the setup.

Gloria took a seat, “Let’s try it!”

Bede shrugged and sat next to her, taking one of the guns. She inserted a coin into the machine, and it flared to life. Scary music started to play as the generic title “Night in Zombieland” displayed across the screen. Both of them pulled the gun triggers, signifying they were ready, and the screen changed.

The game auto-scrolled without the player’s control. It was basically an average target shooter, but with added spooky elements. After a short introduction, the announcer counted down from three, and the game began.

Rain was falling in the game, making it hard to see through the splashes on the camera lens. The zombies came slowly at first so that the players had time to adjust to the game controls.

“Pow, pow!” Gloria muttered, her eyes sparkling.

Bede glanced at her for a moment before turning back to the screen. The distraction cost him a point or two, but he didn’t mind. It was worth witnessing the adorable glow on her face as she nonchalantly beheaded zombies.

The grassy path they started on eventually led to a mansion, which they entered against their will. For a brief moment, the game went silent. There weren’t any zombies in sight. As they opened the doors, however, a monster snapped into the view of the camera, sending a loud crash of orchestral notes through Gloria’s and Bede’s ears. Bede flinched, jumping a little in his seat, as his rifle slipped clumsily out of his hands.

“Shoot!” he reached down quickly and pulled it back into his grasp, but by then he’d lost a huge number of points.

“Caught you off guard?” Gloria laughed.

He grunted.

“I expected a jump-scare the moment those doors opened.” she added cheekily, “Pretty predictable if you ask me!”

Embarrassed, he focused his eyes back on the screen and resumed playing—though by now, Gloria was too far ahead for him to catch up. After another minute, the game ended and spat out some tickets. Gloria won of course, leaving Bede with a sour look on his face.

“Oh lighten up!” she grinned, “I mean, you can’t win ‘em _all_ , right?”

He sighed and shook off his grumpiness, “Alright, alright… but I think I’m done playing games now.”

Gloria pouted, “Fine. What time is it right now?” she pulled out her phone and checked, “Wow—It’s already seven? Where did the day go?”

“Good question…”

“Should we find somewhere to eat, or call it good for today?”

Bede thought for a moment before responding.

“How about we go to my place?” he offered nonchalantly.

Gloria’s face reddened, “Why? What do you want to do there?”

“Well—” he glanced at her face and suddenly realized how suspicious his statement was, “Oi! Stop thinking dirtily—I just wanted to hang out, is all!”

Her smile returned and she shrugged, “I figured as much. What’s at your house?”

“Well… if you want to be casual, I have some leisurely things we could do there. Like board games and books—stuff like that.”

“Oh, okay. Sounds like fun!”

Satisfied, the two walked over to the counter and turned in their tickets to get prizes. Gloria had more, so she was able to get a large Poké Toy that was on one of the back shelves. Bede on the other hand, couldn’t take his eyes off of the sweets. Chocolate bars and various brands of hard candies were displayed in separate boxes, each box labeled with a ticket count. His eyes were twinkling subconsciously at just the sight of them.

“Interested in the sweets?” Gloria chimed, peeking her head around Bede’s shoulder.

He turned quickly at the sound of her voice and nearly hit his head on the glass display case. She was right in front of him, her eyes glittering with mischief as usual. Gloria had made a habit of popping up whenever he was distracted, always managing to startle him when she did so—and though it was annoying, he often found it cute.

Rather than become flustered, Bede flicked her forehead to make her back off.

“Only mildly,” he dismissed sheepishly, and ordered a small box of chocolates.

His thoughts were interrupted by the man at the front counter: “If ya’ want, gym leader, you can grab one more thing for ‘yrself. I won’t charge anythin’… (Also it would be nice if ya’ tell some of yr’ friends about this place…)”

Bede gave him an annoyed look and stubbornly responded, “No—and the Champion isn’t interested either. Have a good day sir.”

The man blinked as they walked away, and when he realized the girl was Gloria, he smacked himself in the face.

“Crap… n’ I told ‘er she couldn’t get a discount…”

* * *

Only a few minutes after leaving the arcade, snow started to fall from the sky.

“It’s snowing…” Gloria held out her hand and shivered.

“Already? It’s early this year…”

The two of them took a moment to look at the snow before continuing to walk.

“We should get to your place quickly… I don’t want to be out here for long. I didn’t bring a coat…”

Bede nodded, “Yeah… let’s hurry.”

When the Stow-on-Side gym was in sight, they turned left, passing the front doors, and proceeded into the forest. It was very dark—especially since the sun was going down, so navigating was difficult.

“Stay close to me,” Bede said suddenly, “It wouldn’t be good if we got lost here.”

He reached out his hand for her to take. She hesitated, feeling her face redden before she took it, and then they proceeded into the darkness. As they followed the dirt path, Bede tapped the large mushrooms that grew just next to their feet. When he did, the mushrooms lit up brightly, illuminating the darkness around them with a soft, green glow. The light revealed the roots of the tall trees that would have otherwise tripped them.

“Watch your feet,” Bede instructed, passing a large root, “That one gets me every time.”

“You’d think they’d have a better path to this place if people came through so much…” Gloria sighed, shaking her head.

“It’s here on purpose. The road is set up to be difficult for gym challengers. Only issue is we’ll occasionally get some trainers who don’t ever find their way out, and so we have to send in search-and-rescue.”

“Yeesh…” Gloria responded, ducking under a low branch.

When they finally made it to Ballonlea, Gloria let go of Bede’s hand and wiped it on her dress.

“Got a little clammy at some point…” she laughed nervously.

His face reddened a bit upon hearing her words.

 _Wonder who’s fault that is…_ he thought, blushing.

Upon exiting the forest, the snow began pouring down on them. It was getting heavier with each passing minute, making it harder and harder to see where they were going.

“Let’s hurry!” Gloria shouted, shivering from the cold.

Bede guided Gloria past the gym and turned right back into the woods. After walking on a path for a few minutes, they spotted a lone house amongst all the trees.

“It looks shabbier than it is…” Bede sighed, rubbing his neck, “I bought it without thinking, really… didn’t expect to have many visitors.”

Gloria shrugged, “It’s better than being out here!”

He agreed and threw open the door. Gloria rushed inside quickly, wiping her feet off on the mat, and then Bede followed her in and shut the door. The house was very quiet, but warm. After a moment of shivering, Gloria looked around, noticing all the mushroom decorations and fantasy knick-knacks that were placed on various shelves.

“Wow! The decorations are really cute, Bede!”

“Cute?” he glanced at the decorations, “Well… I…”

She smiled and shrugged, “No need to be embarrassed. Anyway, what do you want to do?”

Bede looked back at Gloria and noticed she was still shivering, “Well first off, here.”

He took a throw blanket off of the couch and draped it around her shoulders. Gloria was a bit surprised by the gesture, but didn’t turn it down. Rather, she grabbed the corners of the blanket and pulled them closer to her.

“It’s soft,” she smiled, a look of happiness spilling over her face.

He smiled and walked into the kitchen, “I’ll make up some tea, if you want. Feel free to look around.”

Gloria nodded and observed the house. The living room had a high ceiling with the rafters visible, but ornate, and there was a large television sitting on a polished table. The carpet was a neutral brown, with pink and burgundy accents making up the rugs and drapes. The furniture was a classy, brown leather, and had red, fluffy pillows tucked in each of the corners—all of which had creases on them, as if they’d been karate-chopped.

“You karate-chopped the pillows,” Gloria noticed, smiling.

“Hmm? Oh—that? It’s an old habit of mine… makes them look nicer.”

“What’s upstairs?”

“The loft,” he answered, focused on making the tea, “…and my bedroom. Oh—bathroom’s upstairs too—case you need that.”

“I might…” Gloria glanced at her wet clothes, “I got sorta soaked out there…”

Bede stiffened, dropping a tea bag on the floor, “What? You mean—use the shower?”

She blinked, “I mean—I figured that’s what you meant…?”

He hesitated, picked up the tea bag, and shrugged, “I don’t care… but do you have a change of clothes?”

Gloria looked in her bag, “I think so… I always have supplies in my—oh…”

Her face fell, and Bede groaned.

“You don’t have anything, do you?”

She laughed nervously, “It’s fine—I’ll just dry these off and change back into them when I finish.”

He eyed her warily, “Right…” Bede coughed, then started again, “Tea’s done. I’m not sure what you want to do, but feel free to do whatever, I guess.”

She took the tea, a welcoming smile on her face, “Thanks Bede! When I’m finished here, I’ll go clean up, if you don’t mind. I promise I’ll be quick!”

He nodded as Gloria took a sip of her tea, and after a few minutes of chatting, she hurried upstairs to take a shower.


	15. Memory Fourteen - Make it Up to You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to the heavy snow, Gloria was forced to change out of her wet clothes and take a shower. Bede, whom rarely had visitors—let alone people showering at his house, is completely panicked about what to do with himself. Thankfully she's able to properly re-dress (though forced to borrow Bede's clothes); but as they look out the window, it occurs to them that Gloria might not be able to make it home with the snow falling as heavily as it is.

Bede wasn’t sure what to do with himself. Gloria was taking a shower in his house— _his_ house. It was rare enough to have someone visit—let alone _shower_. For a few minutes, he paced around the living room, trying to figure out what to do with himself. He considered tidying up, but the house was already neat. He glanced over at the fireplace. It was burning as brightly as ever, only with Gloria’s clothes drying in front of it.

He strategically kept his view away from the fireplace while searching for things to do, but no matter where he walked, he couldn’t ease his nerves.

_Should I read something? Or maybe get out a game?_

“Crem!”

Bede turned to look at what had made the sound, and found the source to be Gloria’s Alcremie.

“Oh hi Alcremie.”

At the moment, Gloria’s Pokémon were wandering around Bede’s house, chatting or playing with his own. They were also the ones who laid out Gloria’s clothes in the first place, (for obvious reasons) and were looking after Gloria in case she needed anything else.

Bored, Bede flopped onto a couch and turned on the TV. There wasn’t much on, but it was enough to distract his mind from thinking about Gloria. After scrolling through a few channels, he suddenly heard the water upstairs turn off.

His finger hovered on the remote.

 _Do I ask if she needs something?_ he almost stood up, but stopped himself, _No—definitely not. Whatever she needs, her Pokémon will take care of. I don’t want her to get the wrong idea about me…_

As suspected, Alcremie hopped up the stairs and approached the bathroom door, which was cracked open. He could hear them talking, but resisted his curiosity to look up at the loft. Alcremie hopped back down the stairs shortly after and picked up Gloria’s clothes. He sighed in relief.

 _Finally I can relax…_ he sighed, and resumed watching TV.

“Bede…”

He stiffened upon hearing her voice, and glanced up at the loft.

“W-what is it?”

“Uh… these aren’t dry at all… what do I do?”

He stopped. A shockwave of adrenaline rippled through his nerves like lightning as he processed her words.

“What? Um… well…” he shook his head, trying to calm back down, “Aren’t they at least a _little_ dry? Because I don’t have a solution to that…”

“No… they’re literally dripping wet. I think I must’ve stepped in a puddle earlier and it soaked everything…”

He hesitated, _What!? What am I supposed to do about this!?_

“Uh… what do you want me to do then? Stick them in the dryer and force you to wait?”

Gloria paused before asking with a shaky voice, “D-do you have a change of clothes?”

He rolled his eyes and placed a hand over his extremely flushed face, “Geez—um, I can check, I guess…”

“Thanks,” she mumbled, closing the door.

Bede sat silently for a moment, trying to rest his pulse. When it didn’t work, he stood up and moved stiffly to the stairs.

 _I’ll check what I have…_ he swallowed hard, _Arceus—curse my luck. I sure hope no one finds out about this…_

Bede rummaged through his drawers and searched for something she could wear, though he wasn’t paying much attention.

_I don’t know… guess this is fine…_

He grabbed something at random and approached the bathroom door.

 _Now what…? Do I just—knock? Or…_ he glanced timidly at the doorknob, _Either way, that door is going to open, and Gloria…_

Red crept onto his cheeks. She would be standing on the other side, likely wrapped in one of his own towels, her shoulders, legs, and collar bare to his vision—

 _No!_ he shook his head fiercely, _That’s enough of that…_ his eyes wandered to the crack under the door, and after glancing one last time at the doorknob, Bede let out a frustrated sigh.

Sheepishly, he slid the change of clothes under the crack, and slipped down the stairs out view from the bathroom.

_Idiot._

A few minutes later, after Bede had finally gotten his red face under control, Gloria came out of the restroom.

“Thanks Bede… I really appreciate this—I owe you one…”

He cleared his throat, “Right… well before you go home, let’s dry off _your_ clothes first so no one sees you wearing my stuff—”

He glanced at Gloria who was standing at the bottom of his stairs, and a lump caught in his throat. He blinked, completely bewildered.

“W-what is it?”

 _Stupid! You idiot! You idiot!_ Bede slapped his face into his hands and groaned.

“I picked a random set of clothes… those are—oh gosh…” he sighed, “I gave you pyjamas.”

Gloria blinked, glanced at the clothes, and for a moment she didn’t say anything.

“Pfft…”

Bede looked up.

Gloria burst into laughter, her face lighting up the room with joy. At first Bede was a little caught off-guard, but after a moment of watching her laugh, he smiled again and let out a long huff.

“It’s fine,” she managed, still giggling, “As long as no one visits you tonight, I should be fine. And besides…” she pointed out the window, drawing Bede’s attention to the cascading snowflakes descending down from the thick trees, “I don’t think I’ll be able to make it home in that weather, so maybe I should just stay here for the night.”

Bede’s face fell again, “S-stay the night!?” he glanced at the snow, dread in his eyes, “Are you sure? If anyone finds out, we’ll be in huge trouble…”

Gloria shook her head, “I’ll be careful—don’t worry about it!”

He sighed and thought to himself for a moment, _Now she wants to stay the night? I’m not sure about this anymore. It’s hard enough keeping my composure with her_ awake…

Figuring he’d agreed, Gloria went ahead and climbed up the stairs.

“Hey—wait a minute!”

He followed after her and found she was sitting on the ground with her legs crossed. There was a controller in her hand, and she was turning on his Nintendo Switch.

“What?” she asked, blinking at him.

He paused, sighed, and shook his head in surrender, “Fine, fine—do what you want. I’ll take the couch downstairs and you can have my bed.”

Startled, she peered up at him guiltily, “Are you sure? I’m the one who barged in here—”

“Trust me—it’s fine. After all the stuff you’ve done for me, it’s about time I paid you back.

For the next few minutes, Bede tidied up his room for Gloria while she played an RPG he had downloaded on his Switch.

“This is confusing…” she mumbled, fumbling with the controllers.

“That’s because you’re doing it wrong. Here—” he held out his hand, and she handed him the controller, “Press these buttons to use your shield. You can get a lot farther if you do.”

“Ah! Thanks Bede! This is a _lot_ easier now.”

“Also—fair warning, that level is a tough one. I haven’t beat it myself yet, so…”

She grinned, “I’ll see what I can do.”

* * *

At eleven o’clock, Bede had finally finished preparing both his room, and the couch downstairs. He’d also gotten ready for bed, and so had Gloria. Placing one last blanket over the couch cushions, Bede nodded—satisfied with the makeshift mattress.

“Phew… I think this is alright now. I’ll go see if Gloria is ready to wrap things up.”

Bede shuffled up the stairs quietly to go and check on her, but was surprised to find her asleep. She was laying back in a bean bag chair with the controller lying limply in her hands. On the screen, the two words: LEVEL COMPLETE were being displayed on the switch’s screen. Bede smiled, realizing she must’ve made it a personal goal of hers to beat the level after he said he couldn’t do it.

Then his eyes landed on Gloria. Her eyelids were closed shut in deep sleep, and her mouth was open the tiniest bit as she quietly breathed. Her hair was a little messy, yet somehow still as shiny and magnificent as ever as she lay soundlessly on the bean bag. Somehow, she even managed to make his oversized pyjamas look cute on her. He dared think that she looked almost angelic.

A surge of desire crept through his heart, but he shuddered and excused whatever thought was trying to poison her lovely image. Instead, he directed his thoughts on how he would get Gloria to bed.

 _I don’t want to wake her up, but…_ he stared at her again, feeling even guiltier at the thought of awakening her.

He sighed softly and straightened up, deciding what he was going to do. Almost automatically, he approached her—intending to shake her awake, but found his hands slip underneath her legs to hoist her up into his arms. He was surprised to find that she didn’t weigh much, but yet after only a moment, his arms started to ache.

“Crap!” he whispered, then glanced at Gloria to make sure she was still asleep.

 _She’s not heavy, but my arms are so bloody weak that I can hardly lift her regardless! I’m pathetic…_ he took a shaky step towards his room, _Well… too late now—I can’t just put her back down! Luckily my room isn’t too far…_

Bede shuffled the last few feet to his bed, and using the remnant of his arm strength, he laid Gloria down onto the mattress. Hearing the movement of the mattress springs, Gloria’s Pokémon, who were sleeping in various spots in the room, stirred a little, but remained at rest. Luckily for him, Gloria hadn’t awoken from the noise either. With another sigh, he took a step back and pulled the blankets over her body. Next to her, moonlight was streaming out of the window and shining across her beautiful face.

 _It stopped snowing?_ he wondered, looking up, _No… it’s still snowing. Must just be a break in the clouds._

After one last glance, Bede turned to walk away, but stopped when he felt something tug at his shirt. He turned back around to see Gloria sitting up, but with her face down and hidden behind her long hair.

“Gloria?”

She was breathing heavily and her hand was trembling on the bottom of his shirt.

“What is it?” he asked, his heartrate shooting up again, “I thought you were asleep.”

She shook her head, “Bede…” she whispered, the second “e” in his name breaking.

He stiffened a bit, _Is she crying?_

“Are you alright? What happened?”

She shuddered and sniffed once before whispering, “I keep thinking about it over and over and it’s just not fair…”

_What? What’s “it”? Is she referring to the incident at Hammerlocke?_

“Hey, it’s alright…” he responded, trying his best to be sympathetic despite his nervousness, “Whatever happened to you that night—it’s okay. I promise it won’t happen again.”

Gloria shook her head violently and suddenly locked eyes with Bede. He was surprised to find her eyes were once again that intense shade of sterling silver. Swimming in her irises he could see worlds of passion and regret, along with the lake of tears that now seeped out of the corners of her eyes. They swirled with breathing lives of their own as she fixated her gaze on his.

His strength left him, and for a moment he couldn’t look away.

“It’s not fair,” she repeated, a silvery tear rolling down her cheek, glinting in the moonlight, “No matter how many times I say it, I still feel guilty inside.”

He blinked in confusion, “What say _what,_ Gloria? Is this about Hammerlocke?”

She bowed her head again, “It’s not fair to you…” her voice broke, “b-because…” she inhaled a shaky breath and he could feel her grip tighten on his shirt, “That night at the train station, after you left—I kissed Hop.”

A surge of surprise stabbed through his lungs, making him lose his grasp on whatever words he intended to say.

Then he shook his head, “What do you mean _unfair?_ I still don’t understand.”

She looked up at him from under her hair, and guilt crept into his heart.

“I mean… you said so yourself that you’re choosing between us, aren’t you? So isn’t that just a necessary step?” he looked away, his face getting hotter the longer she stared at him.

“Yes, but… well…” she paused, “I feel so guilty over it. Here I am, on a date with you, when I’ve already kissed Hop—” tears dripped down onto her lap, “I’m scared I might be leading you on. It hurts so much I can’t breathe…”

His heartrate stopped for a solid five seconds before he processed what she said.

“Leading me on? Are you saying you don’t actually…”

She trembled silently.

“No—what I’m saying is it’s not fair to you that I’ve already… k-kissed him, when I haven’t…” her voice trailed off, leaving Bede with nothing but her implied words.

_“…when I haven’t even kissed you yet.”_

Bede swallowed harshly. He couldn’t grasp what she was saying—or rather what she _wasn’t_ saying. It was already hard enough to restrain himself around her, so how could she expect him to back away when she uttered things like that? Bede knew if he didn’t step away now, he wouldn’t be able to escape later. Not when her eyes were so menacingly and gorgeously taunting him—whether she meant it or not.

“It’s late,” he said suddenly, cutting off their conversation, “You’re tired and emotional, Gloria. Let’s be a little reasonable here…”

She hesitated, but didn’t lay down. Trying to get her to relax, he leaned over and took a corner of the blanket to tuck it into the edge of the bed. Gloria said nothing as he did so, but as he was pulling back, he locked eyes with her.

Once again, the dangerous, silver eyes entrapped his gaze, making him halt with one arm still across her body.

 _What?_ he blinked, _What’s happening? Why can’t I look away from your eyes?_

He was about to pull away again, but Gloria’s hand grabbed his collar, forcing him to stay locked on her gaze.

She looked back down and whispered, “I really like you, Bede. But I can’t figure out how to make it up to you.”

The saddest half-smile he had ever seen floated onto her face. At once, he thought he was seeing a Gloria that he had never met—one from a long, long time ago that he couldn’t touch if he searched his whole life. Her soft, grey eyes glinted and weaved with the moving light until they finally crept back to his face. As if realizing the position they were now in, Gloria’s smile quickly flitted away and was replaced with surprise as she stared at him—suddenly leaving her mouth vulnerably agape. Her eyes darted across his face a few times, as if searching for something, before finally locking in place. An eager intensity blossomed behind her pupils, drawing him in millimeters at a time.

 _I can’t…_ he realized. His body was no longer leaning away.

Her gaze was weakening. There was a desire and grief hiding behind every millisecond she stared at him, and it was crippling to his sensibility.

It was also terribly, torturously beautiful.

The next moment, his body started to relax and fall with his soft breathing. Bede’s eyes drifted as the world blurred in and out of clarity, focusing only on her intense gaze. His mouth opened, as if ready to speak, but no words came to mind. Everything went blissfully blank. His eyes fell to Gloria’s parted lips and he could feel his body sinking.

Then the words in his head changed: _I don’t want to look away._

At last, he gave into the intensity. Bede turned his head to the right and softly felt his mouth fall upon her open lips. He closed his eyes and the world melted away, leaving only himself and Gloria in it. At first, he merely brushed her lips softly with his own—surprised she was even kissing him in the first place. Then, as he pulled a centimeter back, he felt Gloria’s hand release his shirt but remain planted on his chest as he turned to kiss her again. His left hand moved up to her cheek on its own as his mouth pressed deeper than the first time. Gloria didn’t push away, rather she moved in closer to accept every piece of Bede’s impulsive decision to kiss her.

For a beautiful two minutes, they remained there—eyes closed and their heads turning in the soft moonlight. Bede’s heartbeat shot faster than he’d ever felt it go, but he didn’t have the strength to pull away from her. Somehow, on this snowy day, he managed to make his most impossible wish come true. He was so thrilled for a moment, he felt he could die right there—kissing Gloria for all eternity.

After one last kiss, however, a wave of sensibility flooded across Bede, finally giving him the strength to pull away. For a good minute, they stared at each other in disbelief—still captured by one another’s gazes. Then, startled, Bede’s face reddened and his eyes opened so wide, they stung. He stood up, retrieving his left hand off of Gloria’s cheek, and his right away from her side.

“U-um…” he coughed, choking on his words, “Like I said—it’s really late, and uh… yeah… bed.”

Gloria stiffened, her face also flushing, “Y-yeah! I’m sorry for crying—I, uh… wasn’t being myself. Anyway, um… g-goodnight!”

They both nodded stiffly to each other and Bede closed the door to his room—leaving her to her emotions. He stood there blankly for a moment, his back to the door and his head a mess of confused thoughts.

 _Okay,_ he thought. His face reddened even more as another shock of lightning choked his lungs, _Okay! That-was-really-really-something-wasn’t-it!?_

He stumbled as he went down the stairs.

_What emotions am I even feeling right now!?_

Almost drunkenly, he managed to find his way over to the couch and flop onto it. He stared at the motionless ceiling fan for a few minutes, his face steaming hot and his eyes darting in place. He blinked over and over, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Then he placed a stunned hand over his mouth as he realized what he had just done.

 _You idiot! You were supposed to_ console _her, not_ kiss _her! Have you no self-restraint!?_

Trembling, he let out a long, shaky sigh. Even if he hadn’t expected to end up doing what he did, he didn’t completely regret it. The hand on his mouth relaxed as he traced his lips. It was a nice feeling—kissing someone. He could still remember how soft and delightful it felt. He closed his eyes, remembering the feeling of her mouth against his. He almost wanted to go back and do it again.

Bede shook his head harshly and rolled onto his side, _Enough of that… I can’t get too greedy. After all, Gloria was only making it up to me for kissing Hop, right?_

For a good few minutes, he lay there completely still with his Pokémon sleeping all around him. His eyes were closed as he desperately tried to sleep, but he was too exhilarated. He just couldn’t stop thinking about Gloria.

“Terrne…”

He looked up and saw his Pokémon Hatterene looking down at him with concern. At first he was surprised it was awake, but then remembered that Hatterene could sense emotions. It was probably getting some very strange readings from him.

“Don’t worry about me, Hatterene. I just need a few minutes…”

“Terne, terne,” it responded, lying down next to the couch.

With its head, it nuzzled Bede’s cheek affectionately, concerned that he couldn’t sleep.

“Hey, hey!” he laughed a little and patted it on the head, “Easy… I told you, I’m alright.”

“Terene!” it responded again, still worried.

_I wonder if it knows how I’m feeling right now… I kind of hope it doesn’t._

Bede sighed and laid back down.

“I’m fine,” he repeated, yawning, “I’m fine…”


	16. Memory Fifteen - Nanna

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Though fun while it lasted, Bede and Gloria's date is brought to an abrupt end when a group of obsessive fangirls is sighted just outside Bede's house. After escaping, Gloria heads to the nearest taxi—only to stop when she spots a squad of ambulances pouring into the woods. A tragedy has occurred at Ballonlea's stadium, and suddenly Opal's life is at stake.

When the sun arose the next morning, Gloria looked out the window to see about an inch of snow on the ground.

_All that snow yesterday, and this is all that stuck around?_

She rolled her eyes and stepped out of her bed quietly, concerned Bede might still be asleep.

“Good morning guys,” she smiled to her Pokémon as they blinked themselves awake.

After straightening out her blankets, Gloria opened the door and stepped out into the loft. She looked over the railing to see if Bede was on the couch, but to her surprise, he wasn’t there. Curious, she hopped down the stairs and stepped into the entryway to see Bede standing in the kitchen making breakfast.

“Hi Bede,” she yawned, “Smells good—what is that?”

He flinched when he heard her voice, making Gloria smile a bit. She’d personally found his shyness quite adorable.

“Just some crepes. I woke up early and couldn’t fall back asleep, so I went ahead and got ready for the day.”

“I can see that.” she noticed he was already wearing his gym uniform, “Going in for work soon?”

He shook his head, “I technically have the day off, but I was going to stop by the gym first. I mostly dressed like this out of habit.”

She laughed, “I need to buy you some casual clothes sometime.”

Gloria took a seat at his dinner table, and within a few minutes, he had a plate of crepes ready to eat. After a quick thank you, they both dug into the breakfast.

“It’s good!” she complimented between bites.

He smiled, “I get a lot of practice cooking around here when it’s just me. Glad to know someone other than myself enjoys what I make.”

She sighed and leaned back in her chair with a full stomach, “What a nice date. I should probably go home soon though…”

“Yeah… probably,” he agreed, “It would be bad if someone saw you wearing my clothes.”

“Are you still embarrassed about that?” she nudged him playfully.

Bede glanced to the side, mildly annoyed, “Not necessarily…” he mumbled.

With a huff, Gloria shrugged and responded, “Fine! If you want me to leave so badly, I’ll change and be out of your hair within the next hour.”

Bede shrugged, “That’s fine. I think this date has gone on long enough anyway.”

After that, Gloria stood up, grabbed her clothes from the dryer, showered, and got changed. In the meantime, Bede deconstructed his couch-bed, and tidied up anything out of place in his bedroom. When Gloria returned, she was just as stylish then as she was during the beginning of their date.

As she walked down the stairs, she looked for Bede, but couldn’t see him anywhere.

“Bede? Where are you?”

Upon hearing her voice, Bede suddenly scrambled to the various windows in the house and started shutting the drapes. His face was extremely red, and he was short on breath. Shocked, Gloria rushed to the bottom of the stairs and asked what was wrong.

“Bede—what is it? Why are you closing all of the curtains?”

He spun to look at her, his face somehow beet red and pale at the same time, “People.”

“People?”

“There are people outside.”

Gloria’s eyes widened and a lump formed in her throat, “Wait—slow down, what do you mean? I didn’t see anyone earlier—”

“Look—let me explain…” he sighed, rubbing his forehead, “During the festival, I signed a bunch of autographs and stuff, but there was this one group of people that really bothered me. Apparently they were my fan club or something—the point is, they’re a little obsessed with me, and I think they came to my house.”

“What!?” Gloria stiffened, horrified, “You’ve got a girl group scoping you out!?”

“Something like that…” he sighed, “I think I spotted them in the woods for a moment while I was looking out the window. They’re easy to spot because they all dress rather colourfully.”

Gloria tapped her foot, concerned.

“How do we get rid of them without them seeing me?” she wondered nervously.

“I… I don’t know…” he sighed and rubbed his face, “Um… maybe I can get someone from Macro Cosmos to come over here.”

They thought about it for a moment, thinking about ways Gloria could escape, “Well… perhaps you can catch them with a psychic move or something? Then while they’re distracted, I can sneak off through the woods.”

Bede thought about it and nodded, “I think I’ll use Hatterene to catch them for me, and when it’s safe, I’ll give you a signal. Either way though, you’ve got to be tactful about this—and keep your disguise on!”

She nodded, “Okay—let’s do this!”

After a few more minutes of building up courage, Bede reached for the doorknob. Gloria swallowed hard as he opened the door, and moments before he stepped outside, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

“Be careful!”

He nodded, now a little embarrassed, and proceeded out the door. Silently, Bede waited in front of the door to listen for sounds of the girls. He could hear some not-so-quiet whispering in the nearby foliage that was giving away the location of the nosy girls.

“Hatterene,” he whispered, letting the Pokémon out of its Poké Ball, “Go teleport over in that brush, and use psychic to restrain whoever those people are. Got it?”

The Pokémon nodded and teleported out of sight. A few moments later, he heard a collection of girly screams ring out through the air.

“Eek! Put us down, you crazy Pokémon!”

Bede stepped out from the front of his house, and unsurprisingly, the people were exactly who he thought they were.

“You lunatics again…” he glared angrily, “I thought I’d seen the last of you at the festival.”

“Nooo! Don’t yell at us—we were just, um… passing through!”

He glanced at the girl dressed in blue. She was holding her phone with two hands, as if using it to record something.

“Is that recording?”

Their faces went pale, “W-we just wanted uh… uh…”

“Enough.” he dismissed angrily, “Whatever nasty excuse you have, I don’t want to hear it. I’m calling security.”

Still suspended in the air, some of the girls began weeping dramatically.

“We only wanted a picture! J-just a little slice-of-life post for our blog!” the pink one whined.

“And we were only slightly curious if maybe… well…” the yellow one mumbled.

“If _what?_ ” he pressed.

The yellow girl puffed out her cheeks in fury, “The fans are worried that you have a girlfriend! We just wanted to know for sure if the rumors were true!”

Bede’s left eye twitched.

_What? Did someone see us yesterday?_

“I have nothing of the sort,” he lied, gritting his teeth, “And even if I did, I have the right to my own privacy, thank you very much.”

With a tap of his thumb, Bede sent a quick text to Gloria that simply said: “👍”, and then proceeded to contact Macro Cosmos about his situation. Getting the message, Gloria replied with a quick thank you for their date, and disappeared out of the woods without catching the girl’s eyes. Bede smiled at her response, and then waited for his call to reach security.

“Hey—can I get some help over here? I caught some stalkers at my house…”

* * *

Making sure she wasn’t spotted by anyone, Gloria sprinted out of the woods until she’d finally arrived back in front of Ballonlea stadium.

“Phew! What a way to end that,” she laughed quietly to herself.

Noticing the Corviknight taxi nearby, Gloria started to approach it so she could return to Wyndon. Before she could even talk to the man, however, her head turned to notice an abrupt commotion near Ballonlea’s entrance. Sirens were blaring, and people were fleeing the streets to let an ambulance pass into the woods. Gloria halted instantly, and a look of concern ebbed across her face.

_Are they heading to the gym? What happened?_

As she looked around, she realized the ambulances were, in fact, parked in front of the stadium. Officers and security members alike were gathered in front of the stadium to investigate, and many people were exiting with panicked looks on their faces. Worried, Gloria hurried over to the entrance of the stadium, and squeezed past the rows of people fleeing outward.

Past the crowd, she stepped left through a single door to enter the halls, and quickly rushed onto the gym’s field. When she looked around, all she saw on the grassy field was a quivering challenger with a Cherrim standing fearfully by their side.

_Did someone get injured during a match?_

She looked farther—letting her eyes rest on the emergency exit doors, and found a group of nurses rushing a stretcher in the direction of the exit. Her heart dropped in fear, and Gloria instantly broke into a sprint to see who was being carried away.

_What’s happening!? Who is that!?_

As the distance closed, it became clearer and clearer to her who the person lying on the stretcher was. Since the field was unoccupied, its gym leader nowhere in sight, the injured person was undoubtedly Miss Opal; and as she finally closed the distance, Gloria’s eyes confirmed this to be true.

“Miss Opal!” Gloria choked, horrified.

The gym leader raised her hand to halt the nurses for a moment, and smiled faintly back at Gloria, “It is I.”

“What happened? Are you alright?” she gasped, tears beginning to sting around the corners of her eyes.

Opal shook her head, “I guess I just got a little too excited. Unfortunately though… I feel this might’ve been my last Pokémon battle, sweetie.”

Gloria’s eyes trembled in disbelief, “Nonsense. You’re going to be just fine, right?”

Opal sighed and gave Gloria her hand, “Listen. When Bede comes here, I want you to be the one who tells him what happened—alright? Just say that I fell down—but that I’m going to be fine. The point is,” she coughed once, then smiled, “Just look after the boy for me, would you? You and I are the only people he’s got, and pretty soon I believe it’ll just be you. Oh… and tell him I’m sorry for being so hard on him.”

Gloria’s face fell, leaving her heart empty with grief, “Of course, ma’am… get well soon.”

Then the medics took Opal away, leaving Gloria standing by herself in the empty hallway of the stadium.

She didn’t know what to do with herself. The chaos had happened so fast—and right after she’d had such a fun date with Bede, too. It left her feeling horribly guilty inside, like there was a black hole of regret now tearing apart her lungs.

 _What do I do now?_ she wondered, clenching her fists as her hair fell in front of her eyes, _What am I supposed to say to Bede when he gets here?_

A few minutes later, Bede came tearing across the field—searching for Opal just as she had. Once the stalker incident was resolved, Bede drew his attention to the blaring sirens in front of the gym, and decided to investigate on his own means. When he made it to the field, he spotted the lone challenger, but was horrified to find Opal missing.

“Where is she!?” he yelled, fear behind his eyes.

The trainer blinked, a mix of sadness and terror in their eyes, “I-I don’t know—they took her to the ambulance…” the trainer paused, “I didn’t get to finish my match.”

Bede wavered where he stood for a moment, his eyes widening in disbelief.

_She’s in an ambulance?_

His fists clenched as he managed a response, “Here, kid. I don’t think she’ll get back to you anytime soon. Just take this for now—okay?”

Bede handed the trainer a badge, and turned away coldly towards the sidelines. Each step felt almost dream-like as he neared the edge. Surely he was asleep still—this whole morning had been so strange, after all. Right?

He turned into the hall, and stopped for a moment as a blanket of trepidation fell across his stiff shoulders.

 _You know there was a reason she was getting so irritable these past days, Bede,_ his mind taunted, _The woman’s over eighty years old. You knew it was coming._

He shook his head firmly to clear away the thought.

_No—I’m sure it was just a little accident. And who knows? The ambulance might not be for her. Or maybe this is all just some sick joke. Yeah… that’s gotta be it._

With a deep breath to calm his unstable nerves, Bede finally lifted his eyes and spotted Gloria standing in the middle of the hall. The sight of her almost made him sick as a ripple of horror jolted through his stomach.

 _I know that face,_ he realized dreadfully, _I know what that face means._

Her eyes were vacant—vacant and cold like drops of white moonlight. She knew what had happened. _Surely_ she knew, and it was not good news.

He approached her slowly, his esophagus tight with the terror of being right.

“Gloria—what’s happening?”

She didn’t speak at first. Her eyes merely skimmed the tile of the floor quietly, unwilling to admit to him the truth.

“She fell.”

His heart squeezed. Bede’s head fell again to stare at Gloria’s shoes.

“But she said she’ll be okay, so…” she mumbled on unconvincingly, “anyway, she wanted me to tell you that she’s sorry for being so short-tempered lately. That’s… that’s all she really said.”

Bede waited silently for her to say more, but nothing else left Gloria’s mouth.

“That’s it?”

Gloria held her gaze in place and remained silent.

He straightened up and placed a trembling hand on his head in shock, “How could this happen? I don’t understand—” his voice broke.

As he swayed on his feet, Bede let his hand fall over his eyes as he started to shake his head.

“First it was Rose, now Opal. How many times—” but his voice hiked as the terror finally set in.

Gloria’s mouth stiffened as she listened to him. She could hear the pain in his voice, but was too scared to know what to say. After all, what was there to be said when the fate of the future was so plainly laid out in front of them?

“I just wish someone could do something,” he finally managed, defeat flooding his voice.

Gloria suddenly blinked as his words resonated inside her head.

_Wish?_

Her eyes shot open, and suddenly the blood drained from her face in the way water drains from an unplugged sink.

Not noticing her sudden reaction, Bede stumbled defeatedly over toward a nearby bench, and sat down with his head in his hands. Silence flooded the air as Gloria’s sympathy changed to pure and simple terror. Her eyes landed on Bede quickly and sharply as she processed the words he’d just uttered.

_“I just wish someone could do something.”_

Finally, with a voice sharp as a steel blade, she spoke.

“You wish?”

Confused by her sudden comment, he mustered the strength to pry his eyes back open.

Adrenaline nearly stopped his heart when he looked at her face.

“Didn’t you just ask that something, _anything_ could be done?”

Her eyes had somehow changed from vacant to delirious. There was a psychotic terror—a look of pure, vile fear and surprise mixed into her fake, brown lenses. For some reason, he felt lucky to be alive. Her contacts were, in an odd way, shields from the mercilessness, grey voids that normally occupied her pupils, and he felt if he ever dared see her without those lenses in, he’d simply cease existing.

 _What’s with that look?_ he pleaded, _It’s as if you suddenly want me d—_

“Bede?” she asked, her hair falling across her face like lifeless doll’s hair would.

“I—” he stammered, “Technically I said that, but why do you ask?”

She paused.

“If it is _your_ wish, maybe something good can come out of this.”

“My wish—” confused, Bede leaned forward and began to raise his voice, “Gloria what’re you talking about? I don’t know what you’re thinking, but…” he lowered his gaze, “Whatever happens to Opal next depends solely on what the hospital can do. It’s up to fate now.”

“You’re wrong.”

He snapped his eyes back at her again and watched as they somehow grew even wider. The greyness of her eyes was swirling behind her contacts like hypnotic whirlpools, sending chills down Bede’s spine.

The only thing that finally managed to pull Bede’s eyes away from her ensnaring gaze, was the sudden crowd that began to trickle down from the bleachers as people started to exit the stadium. With bodies all around them now, Gloria finally turned—leaving Bede with only the sight of her flowing hair as she melted into the blur of people passing by.

When she was gone, he gasped suddenly through his mouth, realizing he’d been holding his breath in her presence. Then, clutching a balled fist around his breakneck heartrate, Bede continued to breathe for a minute in stunned consternation.

_What’s gotten into her all of a sudden?_

* * *

Later that evening, all the gym leaders gathered in the waiting room at Opal’s hospital. They all sat together silently, worry and anxiety increasing with each passing minute. The only person who wasn’t present was Gloria.

Bede sat with his head down and his arms resting on his knees. Marnie was on his left, her hand on his back, and there was a vacant seat to his right. The sound of a clock drummed through everyone’s ears as they sat quietly in the plastic chairs. Down the hall, inaudible murmuring could be heard between chairman Leon and one of the doctors.

“Bede,” Marnie whispered soothingly, “They said Opal’ll be jus’ fine. Don’t stress too much, okay?”

He shook his head slightly, unable to provide a response.

An empty seat away from Bede’s right, Hop was sitting anxiously, his fingers interlaced and his thumbs rubbing together in tiny circles. Though he wasn’t as miserable as Bede, his knee kept bobbing with anxiety as he sat in silence.

Suddenly, the double-doors at the entrance opened, revealing Sonia—who had just arrived. Sonia glanced about nervously, noticing the sullen looks on everyone’s faces.

“Where’s Leon?” she whispered to Raihan, who was sitting to the left of the doors.

He moved the hand he was using to prop up his chin and pointed down the hall.

“He’s getting the news in the hall right now.”

Sonia’s eyes fell a bit as she scanned the seats, “What about Gloria? Is she with him too?”

Raihan shook his head, “No one knows where she is. Disappeared right after Opal was taken to the ambulance. Bede’s the last one who saw her, but he’s not in a ‘talking mood’ right now.”

“I see… guess I’ll just take a seat then,” she responded shortly, sitting down next to Raihan.

There were several more minutes of sitting and waiting before Leon came back into the room.

“Leon,” Sonia said, looking up.

“How is she?” Nessa asked, worried.

Leon took his cap off his head and held it in his hands for a moment, “She was _supposed_ to get better,” Leon began, “but even after the surgery, she’s still not doing well. They reckon she only has a few hours left.”

Bede jolted, his nails digging into his palms as he suppressed his desire to weep.

Leon glanced at him and sighed, “She wants to speak to everyone one by one in case she...” he hesitated, “I’ve already had the chance to speak with her, and she’s just the same as ever.” he smiled a bit, “That woman’s impossible. Honestly…”

There was another clock-filled silence.

“Bede,” he spoke suddenly, “She wants to see you first. Feel free to go whenever you’re ready, but try to be quick—” he began, but Bede was already standing.

Arms and legs stiff, he kept his head bowed, and faced away from everyone as he somewhat stormed out of the room. His footsteps carried briefly before disappearing down the hall, leaving everyone is a sad silence.

“This must be so hard on him, isn’t it?” Nessa sighed.

Melony shook her head, “Immensely so, I’m afraid. Poor boy was an orphan before getting taking into Rose’s care—and look where that man ended up.”

“Such unfortunate timing…” Kabu agreed.

Hop looked up, a little surprised to hear Melony’s comment, “Wait—Bede was an orphan?”

“Yes. It’s written on one of his old league cards. You never knew?” Melony asked.

“Never cared…” Hop mumbled guiltily, “It explains a lot, come to think of it…”

“Hop.” Marnie cast him a painful look, and he fell silent.

“Sorry…”

* * *

Bede’s hand shook as he shut the door. For a moment, he couldn’t find the willpower to look Opal in the face.

“Bede, my dear,” she whispered, “Come here. Hiding won’t get you anywhere, will it?”

He turned slowly, his eyes fixed on the floor as he pulled a chair to Opal’s bedside.

“Look at me, Bede.”

Wincing, his eyes slowly crept up to Opal’s face. A painful surge of sadness tugged through his veins as he stared silently at her pale face. He bit his lip, trying not to let his emotions get the better of him.

“There you are,” she smiled, “Do you know why I wanted to see you first?”

He shook his head.

“It’s because I knew how much it would mean to you, getting to see me even once before I go.” she smiled again, “I might be old, but despite that, you still really want me to stay with you, isn’t that right?”

Bede couldn’t respond. He sucked in a harsh breath and shook a little.

Exasperated, she rolled her eyes and sighed, “Speak to me, kid. I haven’t got all day. I’ve hardly got a few hours as it is…”

The reminder shook Bede to his core, and suddenly his shoulders tensed up and his eyes filled with tears. He shut them instantly and tore his face away from hers as he bit deeper into his lower lip.

“Don’t say stuff like that…” he whispered, choking on his words, “You’ll be fine.”

She shook her head, “Listen to me, Bede. You’re a tough boy. You always hide the things from me that I want to know the most. It’s alright to be sad once in a while—nobody’s holding you at gunpoint.”

His eyes opened again, and suddenly the pain of facing her overwhelmed his pride. One by one, tears rolled down his face as he rested his hand painfully on his forehead. Opal smiled sadly, and for a few minutes, she simply listened to him with her eyes closed in contentment.

After he calmed down, they talked for several minutes, clearing up old disputes and exchanging heartfelt words of gratitude—things Bede normally could never find the courage to say. Though long and painful, the time they spent talking was well spent. He almost didn’t want to leave the room, but he had to so that Opal could speak to the others.

“Thank you,” he whispered, wiping a tear from one of his swollen eyes, “I think I’m ready to accept whatever comes my way now.”

Opal smiled, “Good. I’m glad _something_ I said has finally gotten through to you after all these years.”

He smiled a bit, sadness seeping behind his wet eyes, “I need to go soon, don’t I?” he sighed.

Bede stood up and started to head towards the door. Before he left, Opal gave him one last message.

“Take care of the gym, sweetie. From this day forward, it’s yours. Understand?”

Bitter happiness floated onto his face as he managed to leave her with one last smile, “Of course. I promise the gym will be in good hands.”

She nodded, “Goodbye, sonny.”

His hand twisted the knob.

“Goodbye, Nanna,” he whispered, closing the door.


	17. Memory Sixteen - My Little Shooting Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sadly, due to some mysterious circumstance, Opal passes away shortly after meeting with Gloria. The news is devastating for Bede. As he laments quietly to himself, Marnie soothing him in silence, Hop exits the hospital only to find Gloria standing precariously on top of the brick fence.

When Bede closed the door, he felt like he’d left a piece of him behind in Opal’s room. Whatever that piece was, it caused his forced smile to fall away from his face, and once again return him to his cold, bitter self. He walked quietly back down the hall and turned back into the waiting room. Upon seeing him, the gym leaders’ faces changed—guilt flowing into their eyes.

“Um…” Bede muttered, rubbing his nose uncomfortably, “She wants to speak with Kabu next.”

Then he sat back down in his seat by Marnie, this time keeping his head raised and his back flat against the chair. There was no point in hiding his sadness now. Anyone could tell with a glance that he had just been crying, and though that bothered him, he didn’t care enough to hide it.

One by one, the gym leaders visited Opal. Many of them came back with tears in their eyes—mostly the girls. Others did as Bede did, trying to keep their sadness to themselves. In the end, however, everyone had shed a tear at some point or another.

Bea, the last of the gym leaders to visit Opal, entered the room and muttered, “She wants to see Gloria now, but nobody knows where she is.”

“Should I call her?” Marnie asked.

Before Bea could respond, someone stepped into view of the room.

“There’s no need for that.”

It was Gloria of all people. Somehow, she’d stepped casually into the doorway without anyone noticing—as if she was just hiding around the corner. Upon seeing her, Bede almost shot up from his chair. It took all of his strength to restrain himself from scolding her—demanding where she’d been this whole time, but the look in her eyes kept him at bay.

Just like the night they visited her at the hospital, her eyes were cold and lifeless. Her mouth was thin and her shoulders slumped like a rag doll—as if all the energy in her body had been mysteriously drained away. Then, without a word, she proceeded down the hall and disappeared into Opal’s room.

“What was that all about?” Marnie whispered to Bede, “Somethin’ happen between you two?”

Bede shook his head, “I’m just as lost as everyone else is.”

Marnie thought silently for a moment.

“It brings me to wonder…” she began again, “She was around when the ambulances were called, right? What was she doin’ at Ballonlea so early in the day…?”

Bede stiffened upon hearing her question. Unwilling to provide an answer, he simply mumbled, “No idea,” and held his breath for a moment to relax his now-fluttering heartbeat.

“It’s weird though…” Hop continued for her, “I mean, she really didn’t have a need to be there so early—other than checking on Opal. And even so—that would mean she got to Ballonlea _really_ fast…”

 _Crap,_ he thought, _I better come up with a good excuse… I don’t think I’d be able to survive if they figured out what actually happened!_

Marnie leaned close to Bede, her eyes squinting suspiciously at him, “Ya’ _sure_ ya’ don’t know a thing, Bede? The more I think ‘bout it, the more suspicious it is.”

Bede avoided her gaze, “Can we… not talk about this right now?” he mumbled, trying to sound pathetic enough for the two of them to drop the subject.

“We’re just asking a question…” Hop replied, shrugging, “I don’t see how this would trigger an emotional response—”

Marnie sighed and shook her head, “No, it’s alright… we’ll jus’ ask Gloria ‘bout it when all-o-this blows over.”

Relieved they’d given up, Bede and the others fell silent again as they waited for Gloria to finish speaking with Opal.

In the meantime, Gloria was standing silently in front of Opal’s door. She closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and let herself in. When she was inside, both she and Opal remained temporarily quiet as they gazed at one another from across the room. After a moment, Gloria was the first to speak.

“I see you wanted to speak to me last…” Gloria started, glancing sourly at a corner of the room.

“Well, I only did so because you’d already spoken to me while I was being carried off, remember?”

Gloria shook her head, “No… there’s something else, isn’t there?”

Opal smiled, “Ah. By chance, does it have to do with the fact that…” she hesitated, locking eyes with Gloria, “I’m dying because of you?”

There was a long silence. Gloria stiffened, her eyes moving to the floor emptily. A frown creased her face, trembling as she clenched her fists.

“Sit over here, Gloria. We have a lot to talk about.”

* * *

The sound of Opal’s door closing left a melancholy gloom through the entire hallway of the hospital. Every step Gloria took felt like she was leaving a trail of death behind her. Though the way to the waiting room was short, it felt to her that it had taken her several hundred years to arrive. She was an entirely different person when she reached the entryway. At this point, some of the gym leaders had already left. Hop, Leon, Sonia, Marnie, and Bede were still waiting, along with a couple others who had time to stick around.

“Gloria…” Sonia whispered, acknowledging her as she appeared in the door frame.

The others just stared, waiting for some kind of response from her.

“Opal,” Marnie said suddenly, breaking the silence, “Is she—”

“She passed away after our conversation ended.”

The atmosphere in the room died instantly. Marnie’s eyes trembled as they landed on Bede’s shaking figure. Gloria’s words had drilled into him, causing the fist which he was using to prop his head up tighten in pain, and she could see a tear glint as it fell from his eye to his wrinkled uniform. As he trembled in the silence, everyone else remaining in the room bowed their heads in respect.

Her face hidden behind her hair, Gloria whispered as she turned away, “I’m sorry.”

Gloria’s nails dug fiercely into her palms as she watched Bede suffering. Knowing what she and Opal had just talked about, there was no way she could face him now. Her stomach jolted as she felt one of her nails snag, and could feel a small droplet of blood running down her palm. She glanced at it, smeared the red splotch with her thumb, and then hurriedly exited the room without another word.

The room was eerily silent for several minutes before anyone had the courage to move or speak. The first person to do anything was Piers.

“Well…” he sighed, rubbing his neck, “A real shame… I’m not good at sayin’ things like this, but… I think we all feel the same way right now.”

Piers stood up, more hunched over than ever, and tilted his head towards the door.

“We should go, sis. I feel awful leavin’ things like this, but…”

Marnie shook her head, “It’s alright, Piers. Go on ahead… I think I need a few more minutes…”

After Piers left, everyone else started to file out of the room one by one. The last ones to stay were Marnie, Hop, and Bede—however Hop, as sad as he was about the whole thing, was mostly just waiting for Leon and Sonia to give him a ride home.

Bede had returned to his keeled over position, his head in his hands as Marnie sympathetically rubbed his back. Though he was torn about the news, Hop found it more uncanny that his old, stone-hearted rival was breaking into pieces before his very eyes. Any other day he would’ve found it satisfying—but now was not the time.

Too uncomfortable to remain seated, Hop finally stood up from his chair and began to shuffle towards the exit.

“Uh…” he mumbled, refusing to look Marnie in the eyes, “I’m sorry, but I need some fresh air… you won’t mind if I…” his voice trailed off as he gestured to the door.

Understanding, Marnie nodded to him, and without lingering for another moment, Hop exited through the doors.

The heavy silence returned as soon as Hop was gone.

“Hey,” Marnie sighed, “How much longer do y’ need, Bede? It’s jus’ us two now…”

He hesitated, sniffed, and sat up, wiping his eyes angrily with his thumb.

“I’ll be fine…” he sighed, his voice and nose congested, “Give me a few weeks and the two of us’ll be back to normal I suppose—driving each other up walls, and such…”

Marnie smiled a tiny bit, but still had a sad look in her eyes.

“Well… should we go soon?” she asked quietly.

Bede nodded slowly, rubbing his eyes again.

“Sure. I think the best thing for me—” he paused, unwilling to admit his own pain for a moment, “for _everyone,_ is to get some rest.”

As the two made their way towards the exit, Hop was standing just outside of the hospital doors waiting for Leon. To his left, there was a brick trail leading up a tall hillside. On the top there was a six-foot tall fence overlooking the steep edge of the hill. It wasn’t the trail that caught his eye, however, but a girl he saw sitting daintily on the fence, staring up at the stars.

“That person’s in a dangerous spot,” he wondered, “Maybe I should go check on her…”

Worried, he scaled the short distance up the hill to see what was going on. It didn’t take him very long to discover the girl was actually Gloria—looking sadder, but more beautiful than he had ever seen her. Her hair was floating in the soft breeze, and she was holding her right knee as she sat on the white, brick fence.

“Gloria!” he shouted, approaching her quickly, “There you are! Everyone’s been worried about you…”

Mildly surprised, she turned to face him. An ice-cold jolt shot through his esophagus as he realized her contacts were suddenly missing—leaving him at the mercy of her overbearing, monotone eyes.

She gave him no response, other than a deep, longing, exhale.

“So… uh… where were you when this mess started? We were all worried you wouldn’t make it to Opal in time, but you were just… around? Why didn’t you say anything?”

Halfway through his sentence, Gloria stood up. The fence increased her height dramatically, making her even more intimidating as her natural eyes reflected the white moonlight at him.

Gloria chose not to answer Hop’s question. Instead, she asked him one of her own.

“Hop,” she whispered, an icy frost coating her words, “tell me… do you have a desire?”

He paused, surprised by her sudden remark, “Desire? Um… well…” he thought for a moment, “I don’t really know… other than wanting to become a good Pokémon professor someday. But that’s beside the point—”

“I see.” she interrupted, and fell silent once again.

“Uh… okay?” he cleared his throat, “Are you alright Gloria? You’re saying some odd things—and not to mention you’re standing in a rather precarious—”

“Do you believe in shooting stars?” Gloria asked again, watching the night sky.

Hop blinked, “As in the tale?” he paused, “Not particularly… why?”

“The shooting star,” she whispered, “A burning meteor that falls across the sky, granting wishes across the continent. However… the star itself, is but the means of granting a wish; therefore cannot suffer to grant a wish of its own.”

Gloria closed her eyes and held out her arms, facing her palms towards the sky.

“I suppose that is what _I_ am.”

Hop stared at her confusedly, _What on earth is she doing? What does any of this have to do with Opal?_

“Gloria… I’m sorry, but I don’t—”

“You don’t need to understand Hop. Not yet,” she turned back to him, her grey eyes piercing his core, “but before I go, let me ask you: if a star chose _not_ to grant a wish, what would happen?”

Hop shrugged, “Nothing, right?”

She smiled.

“No. I’m afraid _nothing_ can only happen if the wish isn’t uttered in the first place. If a wish is made, but not granted, that wish becomes corrupt and turns into a curse. And if a wish becomes a curse, the opposite of the wish must come true.”

She fell silent for a moment, letting the air between them intensify.

“ _Professor_ Hop versus _Champion_ Hop. A wish that became a curse. Perhaps if we had never met, _you_ would be the champion right now, and not me.”

Hop shuddered, even more perplexed than ever as he tried to grasp what Gloria was telling him. Every sentence that left her mouth was so cryptic and nonsensical, he couldn’t interpret what she meant, or _why_ she was even saying it.

“Look… I don’t know what you’re trying to say, but just—stop, okay? I don’t know anything about wishes and stars, so let’s just get ourselves back home and have a goodnight’s sleep… alright?”

She didn’t respond.

“So… come down from the fence, and—”

The front doors to the hospital opened behind them, and Hop turned to see Marnie and Bede exiting. Though both were still depressed, they seemed slightly better now that they were standing in the night air. Behind them, Leon and Sonia filed out, searching for Hop so they could head back to Wedgehurst.

Leon turned to the left to look at the brick path, and noticed Hop up at the overlook.

“Oi—Hop!” he shouted, “Come down and let’s go home, alright?”

“Just a minute—” he shouted back, turning to look at Gloria again.

When he spun to meet her eyes however, she had disappeared. There was a small gust of wind and a ruffle of tree leaves, but not a trace of Gloria remained. Hop blinked, looking left and right—checking behind him and in front of him, but he couldn’t find her.

 _Did she fall!?_ he realized, and his heart plummeted.

He rushed over to the fence and looked over the edge, trying to see through the trees and bushes, but there wasn’t a trace of her anywhere.

“Hop!” Leon shouted again, starting to hike up the path as best he could with leg cast, “Get your rear-end over here—we’ve got to go before the train—”

When Hop’s face was in view, he cut himself off. Hop’s eyes were slim and his breathing was shallow with panic.

“Wait—are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“I… Gloria was here—but she just…” he placed a hand on his forehead and sat down on a nearby bench.

“Gloria was here? Where did she go?”

Hop swallowed hard and relayed what had just happened to Leon. After explaining it to him, Leon rubbed his chin in concern.

“That’s strange… all this talk about wishes and whatnot—then suddenly she just disappears?”

“Yeah…”

Leon shrugged, “I don’t know what to say, bud. This is weird… she’s probably fine though—knowing her. I reckon she’s just got her mind on Opal like everyone else and is struggling to cope with it. Perhaps she was daydreaming or something?”

Hop sighed, reality slowly sinking back into him as he recalled Opal’s passing, “Right…”

After a bit more talking, they proceeded back down to the bottom of the pathway and relayed the recent events to the others.

“Weird…” Sonia muttered, “Gloria doesn’t seem like the type to become all cryptic on us…”

“ _Nobody_ is the type to jus’ _‘become cryptic’,_ ” Marnie added, shaking her head, “But like Leon said—she’s probably jus’ hung up on Opal like the res’ of us.”

Bede looked down, his eyebrows knitting in concern, “I’m not so sure about that,” he muttered, grabbing everyone’s attention, “She’s been acting off since last evening.”

He recalled the teary conversation they shared regarding her and Hop, but wasn’t sure if it had anything to do with the recent events, so he excluded mentioning it. What really bothered him was the conversation they’d had after Opal had been taken away that morning.

“This morning, just after the incident, Gloria asked me what my desire was—just like how she asked you.”

Everyone’s heads turned to look at Bede, surprised by the sudden connection.

“What did she say, specifically?” Hop asked.

“I said that I wished someone could do something about Opal…” he sighed, rubbing his neck, “and she asked me: ‘Is that your wish? That something, _anything_ can be done?’” he paused, remembering what was said next, “I told her that this was something up to fate, and she just said ‘You’re wrong.’ and left. I didn’t see her again after that.”

There was a long silence. Everyone tried to piece together what Gloria might’ve meant, but no one could come up with anything.

“It’s too weird…” Marnie sighed, “Let’s just forget about this and go home for now… we all need some rest after today.”

The four others sighed and nodded in agreement.

“Let’s go home,” Sonia said, nodding to Hop and Leon, “I’ll drive us.”

“Right,” Leon nodded, and they departed to the parking lot as a group of three.

Marnie and Bede didn’t need a ride, as they were in Hammerlocke, which was within biking distance to their respective homes.

“You know…” Marnie spoke suddenly, causing Bede to look up at her, “There’s one thing tha’ sticks out to me about what you said.”

“What?”

Marnie locked eyes with Bede and stared intensely into his eyes, “What were you doing with Gloria last evening?”

Bede blinked rapidly, his face starting to redden, “W-what? What do you mean? I wasn’t with her last evening—”

“But you _just_ said that you saw her acting off!” Marnie’s eyes widened, mischief and suspicion twinkling behind them, “And not ta’ mention, she was in Ballonlea _really_ early this morning! I wonder…” she leered at him, “Did you two—”

“Nothing!” Bede shouted, his face entirely flushed now, “I’m not saying anything—shut-up!”

He started to stomp away, but Marnie followed him, “I’m going ta’ get to the bottom of this Bede! Watch me!”

“Shut-up Marnie, I’ve had a rough enough day—leave me alone!”

“Tell me or I’m going to assume the worst, Bede!”

He stopped, shaking tremendously, and then spun and shouted, “We were on a date, alright!?”

She stopped, shocked he had the guts to announce that.

“Now listen—don’t let this go public,” he hissed, lowering his voice, “I _meant_ to get her home on time, but the snow was coming down thick, and it was already ten o’clock. Yes, she _might’ve_ stayed the night at Ballonlea—but I swear nothing happened last night, alright? I’m an honest, responsible person—not some sick pervert!”

Marnie sighed, “Alright, alright—I’ll let you off. But don’t let somethin’ like this happen again. If Hop finds out, he’ll probably rip your head off.”

Bede nodded quickly and put a hand over his face to hide his embarrassment.

“Anyway, I’m going home. It’s late.” Marnie mumbled.

He nodded again to her, “Stay safe…”

The two turned away from each other and began walking their separate ways. Before disappearing across the bridge to Stow-on-Side however, Bede looked back to see Marnie one last time. Somehow, she noticed him looking, and turned to stick her tongue out at him, just like the last time they parted ways.

“Perv!” she shouted, before finally disappearing around the corner.

He rolled his eyes and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his shorts, embarrassed.

“So stupid…” he sighed, finally stepping onto the trail to home so he could sleep his troubles away.


	18. Memory Seventeen - The First Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Bede tries to sleep after losing his only guardian, Opal, he remembers a time where he and Gloria didn't used to get along. Wrapped in nostalgia, he's slowly soothed to sleep by the image of her, and the past moments he realized he'd fallen in love with her.

As the moon rose into view of Bede’s bedroom window, Bede remained lying motionlessly on his mattress, staring up at the ceiling. It had been a long day for him. No matter what he tried to think about, pictures of Opal, Gloria, and the others kept racing into his mind.

_As of tomorrow, I’m going to be the official gym leader of Ballonlea._

He inhaled sharply and turned on his side, squinting as the moonlight hit his eyes.

Gloria words came to mind for the hundredth time: _“She passed away after our conversation ended.”_

 _That’s right,_ he realized, _I’m going to be…_

His mind went blank. As he stared up at the night sky, a wave of depression fell across him.

_I suppose I was never allowed to have a family after all…_

Shocked at himself, he rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, trying to clear the morbid thought out of his memory.

_Dang it, Bede… think about something else… something like—_

He opened his eyes, and suddenly a thought came to him. Since the previous night, he hadn’t had the time to change his sheets, meaning he was literally sleeping where Gloria had been the night before. His face went hot for a few minutes, but he didn’t have the motivation get up and change them.

 _A day won’t hurt… I’ll do it tomorrow,_ he paused, _speaking of which…_

A sudden memory returned to him. It was several years old—back when Gloria had shorter hair, and even colder eyes.

_I wonder when I started to like her… after all, didn’t we used to hate each other?_

He closed his eyes, and suddenly there they were. Bede was bragging about beating Hop to Gloria, purposefully trying to annoy her. Back then, for some reason, he really wanted to make her mad—there was just _something_ about her that ticked him off. The way she’d glance past him whenever he passed by—as if he wasn’t worth even a fraction of her time… it was annoying.

He was scowling at her in the cave—complaining her win was cheap, and that he hadn’t taken her seriously, when he honestly was just trying to re-inflate his damaged ego. Gloria, annoyed, told him that he was wasting her time, and pushed past him to leave the cave.

It was after that when they really started to clash. Every time he saw her, he’d shout insults and jeer at her—but she was never fazed by his remarks. It was her lack of interest that kept provoking him—leading him to take out his anger on Hop. This move was a bad one on his part, however.

Bede never personally heard how frustrated and depressed he was making Hop feel, but after a run-in with Gloria near Stow-on-Side, he knew _all_ of the details. Like normal, he challenged her to a battle and lost. His Hattrem had been knocked down at his feet, so he rushed forward to collect the Pokémon in his arms.

“Why you—” he began, ready to barrage her with more insults, but was surprised when he felt her hand on his shoulder.

“That’s enough.” she interrupted; her voice quiet but very angry.

He blinked, taken aback by her sudden serious attitude.

“What are you trying to prove here?” she asked suddenly, glaring at him.

“What!? I—”

“Every time I run into you, Hop comes crying to me saying he’s not a good trainer—saying that he wants to quit the Pokémon League. This is your doing, isn’t it?”

He didn’t know how to respond.

“Well you can go ahead and shut-up any day now, you understand? I’m doing my best over here, trying to both _be_ a great Pokémon trainer, and also _make_ one—but what are _you_ doing? Stomping on him! Every time I see you, it’s the same conversation, the same result to our battle—just give it up already!”

Her voice got louder with every word she spoke, her eyes widening more and more with rage.

“Are you not allowed to be a decent human being!?” she yelled, “Now LISTEN: I don’t want to talk to you again, understand? Next time we meet, if there _is_ a next time, you better have a change of attitude—because if you don’t, nothing’s stopping me from attacking more than just your Pokémon. Got it?”

Bede yanked himself away from her and brushed off his shoulder in disgust. Angrier than ever, he clenched his teeth and barked back at her.

“What is it with you!? Honestly! Who are _you_ to tell me to change my attitude when you’re such a blank slate of a personality, anyway!? Do you actually want anything for _yourself!?_ ”

She didn’t respond.

“Fine! Next time we meet, _I’ll_ be the winner. Then you’ll see just how wrong you are!”

He stormed off, leaving a silent, angry Gloria behind him.

 _I’ll show her!_ he cursed furiously to himself, _I’ll be better than Gloria will EVER be! The Chairman chose ME to be the champion—not some plain, stupid foreigner like HER!_

Back in his room, Bede smiled grimly to himself as he lay down, remembering what happened shortly afterwards. After beating gym leader Bea, he’d decided to destroy Stow-on-Side’s mural in search of Wishing Stars. In the act of breaking it, Gloria challenged Bede to a battle, and defeated him once again. A few minutes later, Rose disqualified him from the gym challenge to compensate for the damage.

“No—this isn’t—you’re making a mistake Chairman!” he shouted while two Macro Cosmos employees were taking his Wishing Stars.

“No Bede, I’m afraid there is no mistake here…” Rose sighed.

After emptying his pockets, the employees took Bede by his arms and waited for further instruction.

“Please escort Bede to Hammerlocke,” Oleana sighed, frustratedly rubbing her temples.

As he was being escorted away, Bede snuck one last glance at Gloria. Expecting to see her looking satisfied or humored, he was surprised when their eyes met and there was a solemn look on her face. Somehow, despite how much she hated Bede, she seemed to feel the tiniest bit bad for him in that brief moment. As soon as they saw each other, she looked away—leaving him only the back of her head to gape at.

While sitting by himself at Hammerlocke, Bede spent a good portion of time thinking about his behavior and about how upset he’d made the people around him feel. Sure, it had been a crushing feeling to lose Rose’s trust over a matter he’d considered trivial. It was just as crushing as the last time someone special to him disappeared.

But somehow, the look on Gloria’s face were what seemed to matter the most to him.

All that time, he’d been misbehaving _just_ to get some kind of reaction out of her, but had never had any success. That’s why he started tormenting Hop instead. He was vibrant and colourful, bursting with energy and spirit Gloria always consistently lacked. So when Hop kept losing to him, it was only natural he started sulking about with tears biting the edges of his eyes. He was so much more fun to mess with, while Gloria just leered at him and kept his ego in check.

 _Perhaps,_ Bede wondered, _I just hated her because she was like me. She was reserved, hesitant to trust, a little cocky—I hated her because she acted like a high-and-mighty, prodigious vigilante who always played the part of the innocent saint. Her existence was enough to out-shine me and make me feel guilty, because everything I ever did was for my own selfish reasons._

He let out a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment.

It was then at Hammerlocke, when he discovered how he’d hurt people. Gloria just wanted the best for her friend, when all he knew how to do was be a meddling jerk in her plans. He still couldn’t admit this by the time they met again, but after meeting Opal—a person who finally cared about him enough to bring out his potential, and re-teach him trust, he decided he wanted to put his past transgressions to rest.

That’s why, on the day of the championship, Bede strode across the field and demanded Gloria to battle him one last time. Though his wording afterwards came out a bit more frustrated and disgruntled than he meant it to be, he finally received what he had been searching for: reconciliation. When Gloria shook his hand, nobody else could hear her words over the cheering but him.

“I’m so proud of you, Bede.”

And with that sentence, she smiled warmly at him for the first time—and it felt good.

 _That’s what started it,_ Bede concluded, _I think my romantic interest sprouted naturally over time—though I never noticed it until recently, I suppose._

A more recent memory came to him: a gala that was held in the great ballroom at Hammerlocke. The gala required every gym leader to learn a specific ballroom dance over the course of a month. During this month, however, Bede ended up wasting the majority of his time just _looking_ for a partner.

The day came, and he arrived in a burgundy-pinkish coattail, completely partner-less. Waiting for the dance to start, he sat miserably in the sidelines by himself.

“Oi, you pathetic excuse for a man.”

Annoyed, he looked up to see Marnie standing in front of him, arms crossed.

“Hello to you too, Marnie. Saltier than usual, I see?”

She huffed and tugged at the collar of her fancy gown, “It’s so hot—and heavy, and _girly_ …”

Bede smirked, “Oh no—not _girly!_ Heaven forbid the _gothic, punk woman_ has to wear a _girly_ dress…”

She punched him in the shoulder as he cackled.

“Shut-up, fairy boy! I’m sitting down.”

She plopped down next to him, a sour look on her face. Still smiling, he massaged his shoulder where Marnie had just punched it.

“So…” she started again, “Got a date to this thing?”

Bede coughed, “What? Uh…” embarrassed, he glanced off to the side, “I didn’t know it was required…”

“Idiot,” she scowled, “You _knew_ , you were jus’ too _scared_ to ask ‘nyone.”

He glowered at her, a hand grumpily placed on his chin, “What—don’t act like _you_ asked anyone…”

“I couldn’t,” she sighed, “Piers is obsessed with keepin’ boys away from me, so I’m dancin’ with _him_ of all people…”

“That’s too bad,” Bede responded apathetically, “Anyway… I’m sure I’m not the _only_ one here who doesn’t have a date—”

“You are, stupid.” she interrupted crossly, “Leon’s with Sonia, Raihan’s with Nessa, Melony’s with Milo, Gordie’s with Bea, Kabu’s with Opal, and Allister’s a no-show. You’re tha’ only sad soul who doesn’t have anyone.”

Bede slunk down in his chair, “Joy…” then he blinked and raised an eyebrow, “Wait… what about Gloria?”

Marnie hesitated, “Uh… I thought she volunteered t’ dance with Allister, but since he opted out, I don’t think she’s got anyone, does she?”

“Think I should—”

“Don’t.” Marnie interrupted crossly, “You’ll look like a fool next to her.”

Bede sighed miserably and slunk even further down.

Several minutes later, the gym leaders were gathering at the edges of the room. The only person left was Galar’s champion—who undoubtedly was taking her time getting ready. Bede, on the other hand, was still quite lost as to what he should do.

“Maybe I should just leave while I still can…” he mumbled, “It’ll be better than humiliating myself in front of all these people—”

But just as he prepared to sneak out a back exit, the huge doors on the balcony opened wide. Behind them, Gloria was revealed, wearing a gorgeous, ornate gown, lined with sparkly, white lace. Her brown irises glittered in the light as her long hair floated behind her. It was the prettiest Bede had ever seen her.

He was so shocked, he forgot to move out of her way when she started descending down the stairs.

“Hi Bede!” she smiled, acting her usual self despite all the make-up and glitter.

“Uh—right. Hello…” he responded stupidly, completely lost at what to say.

She grinned at him, “Something off?”

He blinked, shook his head, and replied, “Oh—no… you’re gorgeo—” he stopped himself and his face reddened, “…fine. You look just fine.”

“Champion,” a Macro Cosmos member cut in suddenly, “Please proceed—the dance starts in only a few minutes.”

Gloria smiled at Bede warmly again, “Well, I’ve got to go. Good luck to you!”

As Bede stood there, his heartrate slowly crept faster. For some reason, as Gloria started to turn her back to him, Bede desperately wanted to call out her name—grab her hand, _anything_ at all to stop her from leaving his side. She was just so different in that moment—the kind of different that made him both nauseous and excited and delirious at the same time.

“Wait—” he lightly grabbed Gloria’s wrist with his left hand, making her turn back to face him.

“Hm? What is it?”

Bede’s heart panicked around in his chest as he searched his mind for words.

 _Say something—_ he screamed in his head, _anything!_

From there, he let his gut take over for him and just spoke his mind—however frenzied or strange it came out.

“Gloria—you don’t have a partner for tonight, do you? Because, frankly… I don’t have one either. In fact—I was planning on leaving, but when I saw you, I…” he stopped himself, careful not to overstep.

“What I’m trying to say, is…” he inhaled sharply, letting his hand relax enough to slip into Gloria’s, “Would you have this dance, with me?”

 _Cheesy… ugh, you idiot…_ he criticized miserably in his head.

To his surprise, Gloria’s face lit up with embarrassment instead of joy or humor, “Oh!” she stammered for a moment, also unable to find words.

“Well—I… Yeah! I-I mean—” she let out a deep breath, laughed, and finally relaxed, “Yes. Of course, Bede.”

She nodded to the Macro Cosmos member, who was likely her replacement partner, and he stepped aside for the two of them to proceed down the steps, hand-in-hand. What followed was a blurry, five minute dancing montage in Bede’s head—full of embarrassing slip-ups, and awkward eye-catches between himself and Gloria. Regardless, he had somehow managed to enjoy every second of it. It was one of the best memories Bede had in his head—despite it being so embarrassing.

After the music stopped, the room echoed with clapping, and many people cheered for the gym leaders. As thanks, the dancers bowed to their partners, some giving hugs or hi-fives in celebration. Bede, however, was not paying attention, and got caught up in the moment.

As Gloria laughed joyously at his side, she turned back to him with a beautiful smile on her face.

“That was so fun! Thank you so much Bede!” she laughed.

He smiled, and without really intending to, he took Gloria’s hand and kissed it.

When he straightened up again, his eyes landed on a flustered, shocked version of Gloria’s normal expression. Mortified, his face instantly turned bright red and he let go of her hand.

“U-uh—sorry!” he mumbled awkwardly, “I um—got a little caught up in the moment, and I um…”

“No!” Gloria interrupted, startling him, “No—it’s fine! I understand,” she laughed, placing her hands together daintily in front of her, “But I mean… I didn’t hate it or anything…”

There was a pause between the two of them as Bede tried to comprehend what she just said.

“Anyway,” Gloria laughed, “I’m going to dress-down a little bit, now that the _big_ dance is over. See you in a bit.”

“R-right… see you!” he agreed, a little too loudly.

Back in Bede’s room, Bede was smothering his face in a pillow repeatedly, trying to un-think the embarrassing parts of their dance.

“Ugh…” he groaned, “If I couldn’t sleep then, I won’t sleep now… I can’t stop thinking about her!”

He sighed, letting the pillow land on his chest.

 _Still,_ he smiled, _I do believe, that is around the time I started to like Gloria. Ever since then, it was difficult being around her because I’d get flustered so easily. However, I think we might finally have something after all this time._

He remembered the whole conversation about her sitting on the fence.

 _Oh yeah… I wonder where she is right now…_ he sighed and finally closed his eyes, images of Gloria putting him to sleep.

_I hope nothing bad has happened to her._


	19. Memory Eighteen - Pay Our Respects

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A week goes by after Opal's passing, and a public funeral is held in Wyndon. Bede and the others all attend, however Gloria remains missing since the night at the hospital. For a while, the meeting progresses as scheduled, but during the moment of silence, Gloria suddenly bursts through the chapel doors and strides across the hall as if she were never missing.

A week after Opal passed, all of the gym leaders, along with several others attendants, gathered at an ornate church building in Wyndon to attend her funeral. As Bede made his way through the rows of chairs, he met up with Marnie, who was wearing a simple, black dress.

“Morning Bede,” she greeted, a tiny smile flicking briefly across her face.

“Morning,” he sighed, unable to smile back.

“How’re you holdin’ up?”

“I’m not…”

“I see…” Marnie sighed, “This has been quite a week, hasn’t it?”

There was an odd pause before the two sat down in their seats, unsure what else to say to each other. For the most part, both of them had recovered already from the events earlier in the week, so when people started arriving with such mournful faces, Bede and Marnie felt rather out of place.

“I take it Gloria is still missing,” a voice piped up next to them.

It was Hop.

“Yeah…” Marnie sighed, “Haven’t seen her at all yet…”

Bede glared down at his knees, “She better show up,” he mumbled, “It’d be pretty callous of her not to.”

The other two didn’t respond. A bit lost for words, Hop plopped next to Marnie, purposefully avoiding Bede.

“Do you think she’s okay?” Marnie wondered, “Something’s different about her…”

“Yeah…” Hop agreed, “Ever since the incident at Hammerlocke, she’s been acting all strange. First she shut us out of her hospital room that one night, then she’s having serious conversations about wishes and stars and stuff—oh, and there was that time she spoke to Leon about something secret…”

Marnie and Bede looked up.

“What?” they asked simultaneously.

Hop blinked, “You didn’t know? Ah… figures…” he rubbed his neck, “A week ago, literally the _day of_ when Gloria was discharged, she came over to my house and had a private conversation with Leon. I don’t know what it was all about, but it seemed pretty serious. They’re getting the police and some detectives involved in it—whatever it is.”

“Does it have to do with the strange people who took over Hammerlocke powerplant?” Bede asked.

“Yeah—but more specifically, the guy Gloria referred to as Professor Flanders. He’s the dead guy who went missing from the coroner’s a while ago.”

Marnie lowered her gaze a bit, “Hop, be more considerate with your word choice… we’re at a funeral…”

“Oh right… sorry…” he apologized.

“Think Flanders has to do with Gloria acting all strange?” Bede asked, moving on.

“I dunno… after all, he’s gone—isn’t he?” Marnie paused, “Who is he anyway?”

Bede and Hop shook their heads.

“No clue.”

“Then let’s stop by the library sometime ‘n look ‘im up.” Marnie offered, “Perhaps they have his name archived or somethin’. Ya never know…”

The others nodded and turned their attention back to the pulpit in front of them. Within the next few minutes, the funeral was going to start.

The stage had been well decorated the previous night. White lilies were strung across the stage, and pots of beautiful pink and white hyacinths were placed delicately around the casket. In the center was a wooden podium, decorated also with white lilies.

On the stage, the Chairman, who was dressed in a black suit and tie, placed down several sheets of paper. He had a solemn, but pleasant look on his face as he addressed the audience.

“Fellow citizens of Galar,” he began.

One by one, the people fell silent. Among them, Marnie, Bede, and Hop directed their attention to Leon’s face as he started his speech.

“Today, we gather here in Wyndon for a much different occasion then the past two that have occurred. Today, we bid a sad farewell to our wonderful, beloved gym leader, Miss Opal—who passed away unexpectedly this last Tuesday from an accident while battling with a challenger.”

Leon continued to speak for the duration of an hour. When he finished, a ripple of sniffs and stifled sobs could be heard throughout the audience. Bede, however, remained silent—having done all his crying the previous Tuesday.

“Let us now have a moment of silence for our dear gym leader.” Leon finished, and took a seat behind the pulpit.

The room filled with silence. Bede sat quietly, slouched over with his elbows on his knees. He took the moment to think about Opal, but even though he was sad, his mind kept wandering to more captivating things. When Gloria floated into his mind, he had to pinch himself to push her image out of his head.

As if he had somehow summoned her, however, the double doors to the entrance of the stadium flew open. The thud of the large, wooden doors echoed across throughout the church hall, sounding deafeningly loud in the silence. Heads turned as the Champion herself strode confidently, and silently across the hardwood floor.

“What a time to be late…” someone murmured.

“Just _had_ to be the star of the show…” another complained.

Gloria ignored the statements as she walked past the rows of benches. Once at the front, she glanced down the row, and took a seat at the far left edge—several spots away from where the trio was sitting.

“The heck? She’s back again—ow!” Hop muttered, whimpering a bit after getting nudged by Marnie.

“Quiet!” she hissed, and the silence returned.

Two minutes passed, and Leon stood up again to thank the audience. From there, a well-known Galarian minister rose from his seat and spoke for the rest of the funeral. It was a long speech—taking another hour of sitting, for which Bede and Hop had little patience for.

Halfway through, Bede even got bored enough to attempt one-person rock paper scissors, but found that he somehow lost every time. Turning to Hop, he held up his fist to get his attention.

“What?” Hop mouthed, trying to be discrete so Marnie wouldn’t notice him.

He held up his fist again, placing it gently in the palm of his hand. Then he glanced at the stage to make sure nobody noticed him misbehaving. Hop shook his head, a little disturbed that Bede was bored enough to play a game during a _funeral_ of all places, but after only a minute of coaxing via firm head shakes and eyerolls, he gave in.

The two of them were lost for the rest of the meeting—having completely spent their attention spans. Ten minutes later, Marnie finally had to shut them up because Hop swore a little too loudly after losing to Bede again.

“One more game, and I’ll slice both of your wrists off with my fingernails!” she hissed, “And watch your mouth Hop!”

* * *

Eventually, the meeting came to a full close, and everyone scattered to indulge themselves with the post-funeral receptions.

“You two—” Marnie scolded, grabbing both Bede and Hop by the ears.

“Ow, ow, ow—” Bede whined.

“Owwwww stop it—what did we do!?” Hop moaned, placing his hands over where she was pinching him.

“You IDIOTS were foolin’ around for the ENTIRE meeting!” she scowled, releasing them, “Hop—you idiot, you know better than t’ act up like this!”

She spun to glare at Bede.

“And YOU!” she pointed furiously, “You insensitive lil’ brat! Just a few days ago, y’ were cryin’ on my shoulder because Opal had passed—and now here y’are, playin’ rock-paper-scissors during her blooming funeral! Disgusting!”

Guilty, the two boys rubbed their ears and pouted silently next to each other.

“He started it…” Hop mumbled.

“Oi! The one time I’m nice to you, you rat me out—” he blinked, and then looked past Marnie; something having caught his eye.

A grin flicked across his face in an instant.

“You’re mad at us for a little game?”

“Of course I—”

Bede pointed to an occupied seat further down the row, “Look at your older brother being _quite_ the example. Maybe you should give him an ear-tug too.”

Marnie spun around, and was mortified to find her brother Piers fast asleep, several minutes after the meeting had already ended. With one last glare, she stomped over to patronize Piers, leaving Hop and Bede standing awkwardly next to each other. Though glad Marnie wasn’t scolding them anymore, she was the one friend that both of them could talk to. Without her in-between them as a shield, they were at the mercy of each other’s short tempers.

“So…” Hop mumbled, clasping his hands together, “Uh… want to talk to Gloria now?”

Bede looked up suddenly, “Oh yeah—I almost forgot.”

The two looked around the room, wondering where she was. Strangely, she seemed to have disappeared again right when the meeting ended.

“Dang…” Bede murmured, frustrated, “Lost her.”

Though unable to locate Gloria, Bede’s eyes landed on an unusually tall man who was standing a bit to the side. The man was speaking to someone, and had on a long, black lab coat, and rectangular glasses. It was quite the contrast in comparison to all of the dresses and suits people were wearing.

“Wait—who’s that?” Bede asked, pointing to the man.

Hop looked at the man curiously, “Dunno. Never seen him before.”

Bede paused for a moment. Something about the man’s lab coat was familiar, but he couldn’t put his finger on it, “Hop, is that lab coat familiar to you?”

Hop shrugged, “No? I own a black lab coat—what’s so odd about that one?”

Bede sighed and shook his head, “Nevermind… I’m sure it’s nothing.”

The man, however, caught Bede’s eye just as he was looking away. With a smile, the man excused the other person, and came over to greet the two boys. Just like he was from afar, the man was stunningly tall. Bede and Hop had to look up at him to meet his gaze.

“Well, if it isn’t Hop and Bede! Since when have you two been chummy with each other?” he smiled at them, and they both blinked in surprise.

“Accent!” Hop pointed excitedly.

“You sound like Gloria,” Bede added.

The man laughed, “Ha! Yes—I too, dwelled in Unova for quite a time, and thus have picked up the accent! I will say… you Galarians all sound so sophisticated to me—or _posh,_ as you guys say it.” the man cleared his throat, “Anyways, I am Professor Farsald. Nice to meet you boys!”

He shook both of their hands.

“Uh, thanks mister…” Hop laughed, “We were a little busy though—have you seen Gloria?”

“The Champion?” he thought for a moment, then smiled, “Ah, yes! Quite the uh… entrance, I daresay… but I’m sorry to say I have not seen her since then. Perhaps she stepped out…”

Hop and Bede sighed, a bit disappointed that he hadn’t spotted her.

“Speaking of which,” Farsald piped up, “Bede, may I speak to you for a moment? It’s actually regarding Gloria—it’s the reason I came over here…”

Hop shrugged, “By all means—go ahead, Bede. I’ll keep looking for Gloria.”

He walked off, leaving the professor and Bede to themselves.

“Can we walk a bit?” the professor asked.

“Sure.”

They walked for a moment, slowly stepping away from the stage—which by now, was starting to be tidied up.

“So, Bede,” he began, “I’m not sure you know this, but I am actually a sort of—guardian, for Gloria right now.”

He looked up, surprised, “What? Gloria never mentioned having a guardian.”

“I know—surprise! Huh?” he laughed, “Well, truth be told, I don’t stop by to see her much. Still, we know each other quite well. I worked with her father, after all. Smart guy.”

Bede hesitated, “Oh. I didn’t know that.”

Farsald smiled again, “Not many do.”

After they were far away from the rest of the people, the two stopped walking.

“Alright, I think this is good enough.” the man leaned over a bit to look Bede in the eyes, “Getting to the point,” he began, “a little Rookidee told me that you and Gloria just began dating.”

Bede jolted, shocked to hear those words from a stranger.

“I—what!?” he coughed, “That’s just a rumor… we’re not—”

“But it’s true, isn’t it?” he smiled, a little more sinisterly this time, “I heard you two spent an evening in Stow-on-Side together. There were people who saw you hanging out at an arcade.”

Bede blushed, “What’s it to you, anyway?” he scowled, “Who cares if I’m dating her or not?”

Farsald shrugged nonchalantly, “Oh, it’s not really that important to _me,_ but I’ll have you know—the press would _love_ to hear something like this.”

Bede’s eyes lowered, “The press? Wait… you’re not trying to blackmail me, are you?”

There was a pause.

After a moment, the professor laughed, “That’s ridiculous! No, Bede, I have no reason to blackmail you. In fact—it’s quite the opposite. I’m interested in helping you.”

The professor clasped both hands behind his back and lowered his head a bit to be at eye level with Bede.

“Thing is,” he mused, “the idea of Gloria finally settling down with someone intrigues me. However, I’m aware that Hop is also interested in Gloria, isn’t he?”

“Yes…” Bede responded warily.

He grinned, “Then to that, I must say: fight hard, boy!” he laughed, “Gloria won’t make up her mind as quickly as you think. If I were you, I’d be doing all I can ensure Hop doesn’t succeed. I’m rooting for you.” Farsald gave him a thumbs up.

Bede blinked a few times, still confused about the whole conversation.

“Thanks?” he answered, raising an eyebrow, “Why’ve you come to talk to me about all this anyway?”

A thin, strange smile filled his face, seeming almost fake, “As an important figure to Gloria, I take a strong interest in her life. I feel it is sometimes my responsibility to step in when she needs help.” Farsald glanced off to the side, “Speaking of which, there’s Gloria now.”

Gloria was hurriedly striding over to Bede and the professor from the far side of the room. There was a look of concern etched across her face as she rushed over to meet them.

“ _You_ —” she yelled, unclear about whom exactly she was speaking to.

Bede opened his mouth to speak, but Farsald held up a hand—apparently used to that kind of greeting.

“Hello, dear Gloria!” he smiled.

“What are you doing with Bede!?” she shouted, a mix of fear and anger in her eyes.

“Relax, relax! I was only asking a simple question. What—is something wrong?”

She glared at him menacingly, “I swear—if you said anything to him Fla—”

“Farsald.” he interrupted suddenly.

She hesitated, taking a moment to diffuse her anger by staring down at the floor, “Farsald.”

Bede glanced at her. Once again, he was met with her grey eyes as she stared silently towards the ground.

 _How strange,_ he mused, _I thought these two knew each other. Why did Farsald have to correct his name—_

“Bede,” Farsald said suddenly, interrupting his thoughts, “I think I’ve overstayed my welcome. I do believe I know enough to put our conversation to an end.” he smiled sinisterly again, sending a wave of concern across Bede’s shoulders. Farsald looked over at Gloria and nodded to her, “I will speak with you later, Miss Champion. Until then, farewell.”

Raising his hand as a farewell, Farsald spun on his heel and began to walk away. After another moment, he disappeared into the crowd of people, never returning to Bede’s sight. Worried, Bede turned his attention to Gloria, who was still staring at the floorboards.

“Do you know him?” Bede asked, “He seemed a bit—off…”

Gloria nodded, “I know him.”

“Who is he?”

She looked up, sighed deeply, and forced a tiny smile onto her face.

“Just a professor from Unova. He’s a bit odd, that’s all I know.”

Her voice was confident as she spoke—much different to how she initially reacted to Farsald. Gloria’s eyes, on the other hand, betrayed her steady voice—implying she’d faked her smile for him. They were glossy in the light; almost tearful, yet forced dry. Her pupils were dilated and shocked, making her smile even more uncanny as he analyzed her. Bede couldn’t tell what Gloria was feeling, but she obviously wasn’t happy.

“I’ll try to limit my contact with him.” he said abruptly.

Gloria didn’t respond with words, but a small sigh signaled to Bede that he had said the right thing. As they stood next to each other, another figure came running over to meet them from the background. When the person was only a meter away, they were able to identify that it was Hop.

“Gloria!” he shouted, waving at the two of them.

Neither responded until he was finally standing next to them, gasping for air.

“There you are!” he huffed, “I’ve been looking all over for you…”

Gloria’s fake smile was replaced by a sweeter, apologetic one as she kindly responded, “I’m sorry about that—I’ve been a mess all day.”

“You interrupted the moment of silence,” Bede added.

She winced, “I know. I didn’t know why everything had gone so quiet. By the time I walked in, I knew I’d made a mistake. I didn’t want to just stand there, so I committed and went to my seat. Sorry…”

Bede sighed, relieved her rudeness was unintentional, “I see… so that’s all it was.”

Gloria nodded, looking a little impatient. Her eyes darted around the edge of the room, as if searching for someone.

“Looking for something?” Bede asked.

She blinked and cast her eyes down again, “I…”

He waited for a response, but after a few seconds she just shook her head in dismay.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, “I wish I could say more but I have to go. I barely made it here as it is.”

Gloria turned away swiftly, her dress spinning behind her. As she disappeared out the exit, Bede and Hop sighed in disappointment.

“Just like that… gone,” Hop mumbled.

“I wonder what’s going through her head?”

Hop shrugged, “I don’t know—but I hope she tells us soon. I don’t think I can stand watching her hurt like this for much longer.”


	20. Memory Nineteen - A Paradoxical Wish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the funeral comes to a close, Gloria departs to an unknown location to meet with professor Flanders—the man responsible for the Hammerlocke incident. Intrigued about her relationship with Bede and Hop, Flanders makes a strange request for her to follow through. Meanwhile, Hop is outside studying in the Wild Area when his Pokémon get bored and decide to start sparring.

Gloria shut the door behind her. The sound of the door echoed throughout the halls and rang into the spacious room a few meters ahead of her. A sullen, broken expression fell across her face as she neared the other end of the hall—her steps filled with dread.

Finally, reaching the end, Gloria stopped in the doorway. Above her head, a vaulted ceiling stretched up maybe fifty meters high, curving down in a dome shape where it met the walls. From where she stood, the grated floor branched across the room as a single platform, suspended underneath by strong steel beams over a churning, hot substance bubbling down below. The substance appeared to be geothermally powering the array of massive lightbulbs which towered around the room in a half-moon formation, similar to the layout of Hammerlocke’s powerplant.

Done scanning the room, her eyes landed on the figure standing several meters away, looking down precariously over the edge of the platform to observe his creation. He was wearing his black lab coat, his back stiff and his posture confident.

“You wanted to see me?” Gloria asked, almost whispering.

“Yes, I did.” the man turned around.

His dark eyes bore into her with great intensity. He was very intimidating to look at—standing at almost two meters tall, and had a face so weary and pale, he seemed ghostly. His hands were in his pockets, and his hair was askew. With his glasses, he had the appearance of a work-obsessed scientist—so driven by his research that he lost his humanity along the way.

“I wanted to know what you’re planning. It intrigues me that you would hide such as crucial a detail as a love triangle, Gloria.”

Gloria glared at him, “Stay out of this Flanders. You promised me that if I cooperated with you, you wouldn’t drag anyone else into this.”

He smiled sinisterly at her, “I wouldn’t drag any _bystanders_ into this, no. However, these two boys you’re currently dating have caught my eye since the beginning. I wasn’t sure why until I heard the news today from Bede.”

She shuddered, a sick feeling rising in her stomach.

“What are you planning?” she whispered, a desperate edge to her voice.

The man revealed to be Flanders, gave her a twisted grin, “I’m glad you asked. Please follow me, Champion.”

Flanders guided Gloria back to the hallway and opened a door right off to the left. When they swung open, Gloria’s eyes scanned the room. It was large, but not as large as the previous room. There was a set of two steps leading down to a slightly lowered floor. In front of them were rows of whiteboards covered in various research papers and reports. There were a few desks that had towers of papers stacked on them as well, all containing some sort of dense information.

“This room,” Flanders began, “is where I discovered paradoxical wishes.”

Gloria shifted uncomfortably.

“Don’t like the sound of that?” he drawled, “Understandable. They’re nasty things…” he cleared his throat, “Anyway, let me explain what all this means. Do you know what a paradox is?”

“It’s something that has both happened, and not happened—a contradiction of sorts.”

“Close enough,” he shrugged and carried on, “It is something self-contradictory. Something that is logically unacceptable, yet somehow still true. In the case of wishes, I am of course referring to when two people make wishes that contradict each other—a wish that, if it were to come true for _one_ person, could not come true for the _other._ ”

He paused, letting this sink in.

“This issue of having wishes that contradict each other, is preventing me from granting all the wishes in the world—and we can’t have that, can we? As a result, I have been researching endlessly for a solution—and I am _very_ close. Remember that previous room we were in with the light bulbs? The center reactor?”

“Yes…”

“That room will be the room where I grant the first paradoxical wish in the history of the world.”

“Fine…” Gloria muttered, “but what does this have to do with Hop and Bede?”

He smiled again at her, “They’re perfect for what I need.”

Nervous, she looked into Flanders’ eyes and saw a terrible insanity hiding behind his pupils.

“For _what?_ ” she pleaded, her voice getting shakier with every word.

He leaned over her intimidatingly, causing her to step back, “Don’t you get it, Gloria? Two wishes that contradict each other—a love triangle! It’s just _perfect_ for the job! Both Hop and Bede are in love with you, but you can only logically grant _one_ of their wishes. There’d have to be two of you to make both wishes come true—and theoretically, that’s impossible.”

“That’s what this is about!?” Gloria shouted, terrified, “You’re dragging people I care about into this mess, just so you can conduct a stupid experiment!? You promised me that you wouldn’t do this!”

He held up a hand, “I’m not harming them, I promise. I just need two things from them, alright?”

Gloria turned away fiercely, angry that Flanders would so quickly break his promise.

“I require them for the experiment, of course, so that’s _one_ thing. The other one has to do with _you,_ Gloria. I need you to pick one of the two boys—whichever one, and break the other’s heart. Now—aside from the experiment portion, I’m basically asking you to do what you were already planning on doing.”

Gloria continued to look away from him, not moving an inch.

“You’re planning something worse. I know it.” she snapped.

He shrugged nonchalantly, “Probably. But I mean, who knows? In the end, you still get the Pokémon you asked for, so why do those kids even matter to you?”

She didn’t respond.

Flanders sighed and shook his head, “Alright, alright. I know when I’ve said enough. Clearly you want nothing to do with this.”

The professor turned and started to depart, leaving Gloria disturbed. She bowed her head as he approached the doorway.

“I expect frequent reports regarding your relationships, by the way,” he added coldly, “so don’t try to ditch both of them in an act of kindness. I’ll know.”

With that remark hanging over her head, he left her alone in the room, and went back to his research.

Gloria remained for a moment in the silence, wondering when her life had all gone south. She closed her eyes, visions of her mother playing with her in the backyard, darting across her mind. Her own, giddy laughter sang in her ears as she sat contentedly on their rickety swing set.

“Push me higher mommy!” she laughed.

The swing would always go higher, her mother’s smile stronger with each giggle. The sensation of the swing and her mother’s caring hands on her back always filled Gloria with a warm sense of joy.

But suddenly the hands stopped.

The swing came to a halt as a man creaked open the gate. Gloria, excited, slipped off of the swing so she could embrace the shins of the tall man entering their yard. He smiled down at her, patting her shoulders and ruffling her hair like a true father, yet her mom didn’t come forward.

“Welcome home, honey.” she nodded curtly as if the man were a stranger, and entered their house to finish dinner.

Gloria could still remember the tone of her mother’s voice. She always spoke with a diabetic sweetness in her words, praising Gloria over the slightest things so she could know how much she was loved. But when her father came home, the atmosphere was cold and uneasy.

Surely it wasn’t that way in the beginning—surely there was love between her parents at some point. Gloria’s existence alone was proof of that. But after some point, her father stopped coming home. He’d work all day and night—not returning for weeks on end, then ask her mom to drop Gloria off at the lab without explanation. She never saw her father anymore.

One night she asked her mom about it. She was maybe five years old, innocent and naïve when she said the words: “Mommy? Why doesn’t daddy come home anymore?”

And she said back with a voice bitter and blank, “Don’t ever call him that again, sweetheart.”

There was a pause in the room. Her mother, tired and sick of living, turned back with a smile so forced and meaningless, even five year-old Gloria knew it wasn’t right.

“I meant to say, he’s gone. Daddy’s been a bad, bad guy for a while now. He left us behind and forgot about us because he loves his work more than you and me.”

She suddenly took a photograph off of the mantle and smashed it against the wall. Glass cascaded across the room immediately, sending sparkles of light into Gloria’s stunned eyes. She didn’t understand it then—why her mom had suddenly done such a thing. But as she withdrew the picture, fingertips now bleeding, Gloria watched as her mom tore their family photo in half, ripping away the portion with her father in it.

There were tears in her eyes.

“Just pretend good daddy is dead. It’s easier if you do. It hurts less when I think of it like that.”

For some reason, Gloria had decided to keep the torn picture. She taped it back up and hid it in her drawer, still foolishly believing her father was alive and kind as always.

Yet, after all these years, even though her mom made it clear their father was with Flanders somewhere, she’d never seen him once.

 _Was he even real? Or is he actually dead like Mom said?_ she wondered, finally opening her eyes again, _I guess only she would know… but I’m just too scared to ask._

* * *

The sun was beginning to set over the wild area. Hop was lying in the grass, observing the Pokémon quietly, while also taking this moment to relax. After the funeral, Hop had been stressed all day because Sonia had piled towers of work onto his shoulders.

“Geez!” he shouted suddenly, startling his Cinderace, who was lying next to him.

“That woman…” he scowled, “Why’d she have to lump all this paperwork onto me!? And right after getting back from a funeral of all times…”

Hop sat up, letting his elbows rest on his knees as he continued to pout. At the moment, he was dressed up for work. Draped around him was his beloved, black lab coat—gifted to him by Leon on his seventeenth birthday. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, as it was a warm afternoon—despite it being nearly winter. Other than that, he wore a plain pair of jeans, and a white dress shirt.

After a gloomy sigh, he took off his glasses (which he had received recently, after finding out he was cursed with far-sightedness) and let them dangle around his neck with the support of a cheap sports strap.

“I need a break…” he grumbled, rubbing his eyes to help suppress a sudden headache.

His Cinderace smiled at him, sitting up also. It’s eyes moved to Hop’s bag, which was chock full of unfinished paperwork about Corvisquire’s sudden attainment of steel typing while evolving into Corviknight. Just looking at it made Cinderace tired.

“I know buddy…” Hop sighed, patting it on the head.

It chirped happily as he stroked its ears. As he did so, he looked around at his team of Pokémon with a nostalgic look in his eyes. Behind him, his reliable partner, Dubwool, was sleeping silently in the shade of the large oak tree. Also sleeping, Snorlax lay a few feet off to the right of Dubwool, accompanied by his Pincurchin—perched appropriately on Snorlax’s stomach. The only ones who weren’t asleep, were his Corviknight, and his most impressive catch, Zamazenta. Both were happily sparring together in the grassy field a short distance away.

Hop smiled a bit, closing his eyes as he stopped petting Cinderace’s head.

“Funny how all of you went from being battlers, to becoming field researchers…” he shrugged, sighing again, “It’s almost a little sad…” he looked over at Cinderace, who stared back at him with its fiery, orange eyes.

“Do you miss battling?” he asked.

Cinderace looked up at the sky, thinking about his question.

“Ace, ace,” it mumbled, trilling softly, “Cinder… erace.”

Hop listened to its tone of voice and paid attention to its hand gestures. In his mind, he guessed something along the lines of:

(Well, I suppose I do—a little bit. Those days were good ones for sure.)

Hop smiled, “They were, weren’t they?”

He turned his head back up to the sky.

“Ever wish we could go back in time? Relive all those old days, beat the people we lost to…”

Cinderace shrugged, (That girl though—Gloria. I doubt we could beat her if we trained all day.)

Hop sighed, punching his knee in frustration, “Don’t remind me… I try to be a good sport and all, but ugh… she could’ve let me win at least once, you know?”

Cinderace chuckled, (But you wouldn’t want that, would you? If she went easy on us, you would’ve just gotten mad!)

“True…” his eyes wandered over to Corviknight and Zamazenta, who were still battling over in the field, “Those two sure miss battling, don’t they?”

Cinderace nodded, (They’ve been restless for years now. Gotta’ exercise somehow, right?)

Hop stared at the Pokémon with an unmoving gaze. Everything Corviknight and Zamazenta did was well-trained and refined. Each attack was planned and calculated to precision—neither Pokémon having an obvious edge over the other. Hop could tell when his Pokémon were using strategies that he had personally taught them.

“So refined…” Hop mumbled in awe.

(You taught them how to do all of that stuff.)

He turned to look at Cinderace again, surprised, “No—not _all_ of it… I don’t remember ever teaching them—”

( _All_ of it, Hop. Look closely at them.)

He looked again. Corviknight’s movements up in the sky, at first glance, seemed rather random to Hop. Although as he observed, he realized the serpentine pattern was one he’d created long ago as a strategy for dodging. It was a figure-eight pattern that was hard to notice, but easy for the Pokémon themselves to pull off. With each turn in the sky, Corviknight crept closer and closer to Zamazenta, occasionally swooping down to take a swipe at him.

Zamazenta, on the other hand, halted its attacks, and started charging up with Sword’s Dance. It’s back legs were reared, prepared to attack, but it’s front appeared more relaxed—as if it was letting down its guard.

This led Corviknight to swoop down once again with its claws open. Zamazenta, expecting this, leapt onto Corviknight’s back and struck with its sword. The surprise attack left Corviknight temporarily vulnerable, however it was able to spin out of reach and sneak in an attack of its own unexpectedly.

The whole fight was choreographed with similar moves and counterattacks—all so beautiful and precise that Hop had no way to decide which one of his Pokémon would win.

“All of that…” he realized, “Is stuff that I taught them _years_ ago.” he spun back around to look at Cinderace, “Have they been practicing all of it up until now? Refining those tactics until they got precise?”

Cinderace smiled, (Yup. All while your eyes were glued to your research.)

Hop laughed, “I can’t believe it… you guys—” he stopped suddenly, his voice trembling as he searched for words, “You all cared about me enough to practice those ridiculous methods, but you’ll never get a chance to use them in a real fight…”

His face fell, “I’m really not a good trainer, am I? Letting your talents go to waste like this…”

Cinderace didn’t know how to respond. Hop’s words were hurtful—but not towards any of the Pokémon. They were hurtful to himself, and that’s what made Cinderace so upset.

(Hey,) it interrupted suddenly, causing Hop to look up, (You’re not a bad trainer, Hop. You’re our family. We’re with you because we all love you.)

Hop blinked, not sure if he could understand what Cinderace was saying.

(We may never compete again, that’s true—but as long as all of us are together, it doesn’t matter. Research is hard, but it’s a lot of fun!)

Hop scoffed, “You’re just trying to make me feel better… I can tell how bored all of you are. Three of you are asleep right now.”

Cinderace sighed, looking away sorrowfully, (You’re missing the point…)

A bitter silence hung over their heads as they watched Corviknight and Zamazenta continue fighting.

“Ace,” Cinderace said suddenly, hopping up to its feet.

Hop looked up, surprised, “What is it?”

His Pokémon stared at him with a burning passion in its eyes.

“Cinderace ace, ace. ‘Derace!”

(If you’re so bored, then let’s fight!)

Hop jumped up, bewildered by the request, “Are you mad!? There’s no way! I haven’t done this in forever—it’ll suck so bad—”

(Nobody’s watching, dummy,) his Pokémon teased, flicking Hop’s forehead.

“Ow—who’re you calling dumb!? Did you learn that from Gloria!?”

Cinderace stuck its tongue out mischievously, (Maybe~)

Startled awake, Hop’s other Pokémon yawned tiredly and started to stand up.

(Come on, slackers! Let’s battle!) Cinderace yelled back to them, (Just like old times, eh?)

With that statement, Dubwool immediately stood up and sprinted towards Cinderace. Also excided, Pincurchin hopped up onto Snorlax’s shoulder and prodded Snorlax’s face lightly with its spines.

“Curch! Curch!” it trilled, begging Snorlax to wake up.

Hop laughed, somehow refreshed by the sudden chaos, “Alright, alright! I guess we can battle for a few minutes—but mind you, I’m rusty! If any of you mess up, it’s my fault, all right?”

“Cinderrrr!” Cinderace yelled teasingly.

“Oi! Insult me and I won’t give you any treats—even if you _win_ , fluff-butt!”

* * *

As the sun set on Hop’s unfinished paperwork, the crew finally took a break from battling. Though difficult at first for Hop to remember everything, the team ended up having a lot of fun.

“I’m starving…” Hop sighed miserably, “Let’s go ahead and set up camp tonight—I don’t feel like going back home.”

His Pokémon cheered excitedly at the decision, and then flopped back onto their backs to resume their post-exercise naps.

Hop rolled his eyes and started to set out the necessary supplies for dinner.

“Let’s see…” he mumbled, searching through his ingredient bag, “Which ingredient should I use? These all look quite good.”

After a minute of deciding, he tossed in a box of fried food and called it good.

“Let’s try some berries I don’t normally use…”

A few fistfuls of berries later, Hop sat down and let the food cook. If all went well, he was supposed to end up with a dry, but tasty, fried curry.

“Gosh I’m so bad at cooking… I wish Gloria would teach me a few things. I heard she cooked over eighty types of curry by the time she became champion.”

“What are you doing?”

Hop spun around, startled by the sudden presence of another voice.

“What the—Sonia!? Leon!?”

The two stood there gawking at him for a moment, confused.

“What are you doing out here in the wild area?” Leon asked, dumbfounded to see Hop camping in the middle of nowhere.

“I—well…”

“You were supposed to come back after a few hours you know? Staying the night was never a requirement, you workaholic! We were worried about you!” Sonia suddenly blurt out, hands on her hips in frustration.

“Oh… well…” Hop rubbed his neck, unsure what to say.

“Anyway…” she sighed, “Did you at least finish that paperwork? Surely you did, if you were out here for so long.”

Hop’s eyes widened and his face paled, “Crap…”

There was an uncomfortable pause as Sonia gaped at him. Next to her, Leon burst into laughter as Hop placed a horrified hand on his forehead.

“I can’t believe it… I forgot.”

“Oh my gosh! You _idiot!_ ” Sonia scolded, “What have you been doing out here, you numbskull!? Playing on your phone or something!?”

“No—I, well… it’s sort of—” he stammered, trying to find words.

“I can’t believe it, Hop—for a future professor, you sure are irresponsible,” Leon teased, “Be honest—you were screwing around, playing with your Pokémon. Weren’t you? That’s why you’re camping too!”

“Shut-up!” Hop yelled, “I did _most_ of the paperwork. I can finish the rest when I get home! Besides—what are you two even _doing_ here!? You obviously weren’t looking for me— you would’ve brought more people!”

Leon stopped laughing and cleared his throat, “That’s not important. The point is we found you, didn’t we?”

Hop eyed him suspiciously, “Oi, don’t cut me off—what on earth are you two doing here? Seems a bit strange that it was just the two of you all alone—”

Leon karate-chopped Hop’s head mid-sentence, surprising him enough to look his brother in the eyes.

“Shut-it.”

There was a smile on his face, but his eyes spoke a much different message. There was a sort of: “I’m seriously going to kill you if you don’t shut-up” type of look in his eyes that chilled Hop so much, he fell silent instantly.

“Anyway,” Leon laughed, taking his hand off of Hop’s head, “let’s all go home and have some dinner.”

“Why don’t we have some here? It looks like Hop’s already cooked something.”

Leon glanced at the bubbling pot suspiciously, “Uh… I’m not sure that’s a good idea. That’s smellin’ a little burnt, buddy.”

Shocked, Hop rushed over to his bag, put on a pair of oven mitts, and hoisted the pot off of the campfire.

“Oh shoot…” he moaned, “It boiled over… that’s not good…”

His Pokémon huddled expectantly next to the pot, eager to be fed. When they got a whiff of the burnt stench coming from the pot, however, a few of the Pokémon stepped back a few paces.

“Well… I cooked it. I gotta try it.”

Leon smirked, “Five quid if you puke!”

“Stop it! I’m sure it’s not _that_ bad!” he snapped.

Cautious, Hop took a spoonful of curry out of the pot. He stared at it for a moment, sighed, and opened his mouth. As soon as the food touched his tongue, Hop keeled over in agony. A mound of dry, crumbly chicken landed in his mouth. The curry was so dry, it had the same consistency as a pile of sand. His throat buckled as he desperately tried to resist the urge to gag, but it was hopeless. The curry was so disgusting, not even a Trubbish could enjoy it.

An hour later, Hop and the others were back at the train station, ready to go home.

“You owe me five,” Leon snickered as they entered the train cabin.

“Shut-up…” Hop mumbled, lying his head down on the table in misery as his brother’s laughs echoed through his head.


	21. Memory Twenty - Alola Galar Region!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next morning, Hop is awoken to find two visitors from Alola standing at the front door of the lab. Sonia greets them warmly, learning one of them, Lillie, is a researcher from Aether Paradise. The other visitor turns out to be Alola's champion, Hau—who's serving as Lillie's temporary companion (but clearly just wanted to tour Galar for fun). Hop feels conflicted when Hau suddenly asks him why he didn't become champion, when Leon was the previous one.

The next morning was beautiful. The sun was rising just over the rolling hills as Sonia unlocked the front door of the Wedgehurst research lab. A chilly breeze was nipping at her exposed neck, making her pull up the collar of her white trench coat.

“Winter is almost here, that’s for sure…” she mumbled, her Yamper barking happily in response.

She fiddled with the lock for a moment until a loud CLICK signified the door was open. She turned the knob and quickly shut herself into the lab. The room was surprisingly still warm, even though nobody had occupied it all night.

“I wonder if I left the heater on…” she wondered.

As she set down her purse by the front door, her eyes caught sight of Hop’s Pincurchin, who scuttled over to say hello.

“Pin, pin!” it squeaked happily.

She blinked, confused.

“Pincurchin? Hi, what are you still doing here?” she chuckled, kneeling down to stroke its spines.

As she was kneeling, her eyes landed on Hop’s office desk in the far back corner. She was stunned to see him sleeping face-down on the wood surface, a nearly empty cup of cold coffee sitting next to his disheveled head. He still had his glasses on, too—meaning Hop had spent the whole night at the office.

She sighed and shook her head, “Silly boy… get some rest, would you? You honestly work too hard for your own good sometimes.”

Seeing him there made her smile a little bit. Sonia could still remember when Hop was a little five year-old boy, running around chasing after Skwovet in his mum’s garden. Now, looking at his mature, eighteen year-old face, she could hardly recognize the adorable little boy he used to be.

“You need to shave, come to think of it. You’ll be as bad as Leon at this rate.” she smiled, picking up the coffee cup.

After staring at him for a minute, she finally shook him awake.

“Oi. Rise and shine, professor.”

Hop groaned, swatting away her hand, “Five more minutes…”

She rolled her eyes, “At least have the decency to move over to the couch. I need to examine the reports you so diligently finished last evening.”

“Oh yeah…” Hop mustered all his strength to lift his body off of the scattered documents.

“I think they’re all done…” he yawned as he peeled a coffee-stained paper off of his cheek, “Some have coffee on them. Spilled it somewhere around 3:00 last night…”

“Wonderful.” Sonia rolled her eyes, “Come on—get up.”

She tugged at Hop’s lab coat, causing him to stand up out of his chair and shuffle over to the recliner.

“Easy does it—there you go.”

As soon as he landed in the chair, he was back asleep—glasses still on, though crooked and bent from the wooden table.

“Sweet dreams,” she smiled, draping his lab coat over his lap as a blanket.

“Now I have to go through all this mess…” she sighed, glaring at Hop’s awful, midnight handwriting.

* * *

By the time it was 1:00 in the afternoon, Hop was still half-asleep in the recliner. Sonia had already decided to give him a half day, since she had lumped so much work on him the day before. Pretty soon she was going to wake him up to go back to work. Before she could do a thing, however, there was a loud knock on the front door.

“Who could that be?” she wondered curiously, “It can’t be Leon, can it?”

When she opened the door, Sonia was greeted by two unfamiliar faces. The one on the right was a short, fair skinned girl, who looked to be around Hop’s age, and she had a white lab coat on. Her hair was a very light blond, and she had it pulled back in a ponytail. Perched on her nose was a cute pair of black glasses, and she also had a white bag at her side.

The other person was much taller—maybe 180 centimeters tall. He was probably around his twenty’s, and his skin was a semi-dark, sun-kissed tan colour. His hair was to his shoulders, and had been dyed a dark green. Along with his height, he was also decently large—though it was hard to tell because his shirt was quite loose. It was also orange, and had a friendly, Alolan flower pattern on the front.

The small girl spoke first, “H-hi, professor! My name’s—”

“ALOLA!” the large boy interrupted, surprising Sonia with his young, energized voice.

He waved his hands in a circular motion to say hello, then and shook Sonia’s hand heartily.

“Good afternoon professor Sonia! It’s such an honor to finally meet you!”

“Hau!” the girl pouted shrilly, “Calm down a bit—you’re being too casual! Things are different here in Galar!”

The boy who was revealed to be Hau, laughed awkwardly and released Sonia’s hand, “Oh yeah—sorry! I got a little ahead of myself, didn’t I?”

“You certainly did!” she scolded, and sighed.

“Uh… hi?” Sonia finally spoke, “Can I help you two?”

“Yes, sorry! Allow me,” the girl cleared her throat and gave a proper greeting, “Hello, Miss Sonia! My name is Lillie. I’m currently the head field researcher at Aether Paradise—I came to help investigate the incidents at Hammerlocke, and possibly exchange information about Alolan and Galarian Pokémon. It’s a recent partnership that was made between our branch head, Wicke, and Chairman Leon—I hope you don’t mind.”

Surprised, Sonia chuckled, “Oh that’s right! I heard rumors Aether was going to have a branch here in Galar, but I thought it was all speculation.”

Lillie smiled, “Well it’s not official yet—I was asked to come and exchange information before a final decision is made.”

“I see! So you’re here to check out the lab then?”

“Yes! Essentially, that’s why we came, yes.”

Sonia smiled, “In that case, I’m happy to give you two a little tour! Come on in, it’s cold out there!”

The two let themselves in and warmed up in the doorway.

“You’re very kind Miss Sonia! I was worried you Galarians would be too strict to let kids like us stroll around your lab.” Hau commented, grinning.

“No, not at all! Just the opposite really,” she smiled, “By the way—you’re Hau, right? What’s your job?”

Hau grinned sheepishly, “Ah, actually I’m not a researcher. I just came to keep Lillie company!”

“Oh?” Sonia raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t get him wrong though—” Lillie cut in, worried Sonia would kick him out, “he’s not just a random person! He may not look like it, but Hau is actually the champion of the Alola region!”

Stunned, Sonia’s eyes widened, “Wait—what!? _You’re_ the champion of the Alola region!?”

“Yup!” he laughed nonchalantly, “I have been for the past—uh…” he paused for a moment, “One… two— _six_ years.”

“Wow! That’s impressive!” Sonia responded, bewildered, “I’m sorry for not recognizing you sooner, Champion Hau!”

“D’aww, it’s nothing. You can make it up to me by showing me around your lab—how about that?”

“Sure thing!” Sonia smiled, then suddenly realized Hop was still asleep on the couch, “Actually—give me a moment to wake up my assistant. He pulled an all-nighter last night, so I let him sleep in.”

“Oh my! How diligent!” Lillie answered, impressed.

“It’s a lot less impressive when you hear the whole story…” Sonia mumbled under her breath.

She strode across the room and began shaking Hop’s shoulder’s to wake him.

“Hooop, we have visitors. Wake up.”

He rolled onto his side and pulled his lab coat over his face childishly.

“Hop!”

When he didn’t respond, Sonia reached over to grab a squirt bottle sitting on the top of a nearby bookshelf. After yanking his lab coat away from his face, she squirted the water twice onto his shut eyes.

“GAH!” Hop yelled, swatting at the bottle, “Stop, stop! I’m up!”

“That’s better,” she smiled, and placed the bottle back onto the bookshelf.

“Oi! You didn’t have to wake me up so rudely you know,” he complained, drowsily wiping the water off of his face with his lab coat.

“We have visitors, you numbskull!” she snapped back.

Hop spun around and looked at the two new faces standing in the room. As soon as he realized there was a girl his age staring curiously at him, he jumped to his feet and removed his glasses.

“Oh! I didn’t see you two there…” he laughed for a moment, thoroughly embarrassed, “I um… stayed up all night researching, and I fell asleep. Sorry.”

Hearing the ruckus, Sonia’s Yamper came bounding downstairs to see who had walked into the room.

“Woah!” Hau said, awe in his voice, “That’s such a cute dog!”

Yamper rushed over towards them excitedly and started licking Hau’s ankles. Surprised by the dog, Lillie stepped back a pace to avoid immediate contact with it.

Hop sighed, smiling apologetically at her, “Sorry Miss. He’s quite the handful, as you can see. You don’t have to be afraid though—he only bites me.”

Sonia laughed at the remark, but Lillie just chuckled half-heartedly.

“I-it’s okay—I have nothing against him. I’m sure he’s a very sweet dog.”

Hau grinned, “Lillie sometimes gets antsy around overly-energetic Pokémon. I’ve known her for a while now, and she’s always been pretty shy—though she’s gotten better since becoming a trainer.”

She blushed at the statement, twirling a strand of hair around her pointer finger, “I’m not shy around Pokémon! He just surprised me is all.”

Hop flashed Lillie a quick grin before returning his attention to Sonia.

“Um… Sonia?” Hop piped up, “Before you do anything, I’m going to use the restroom to tidy myself up a bit. I’m sorry I’ve been such a slacker today.”

Sonia excused it with a wave of her hand, “It’s fine. I’ll just show these two around while we wait for you.”

With a quick thank you, Hop hurried up the stairs and proceeded past the rows of bookshelves into a nearby restroom. After disappearing inside, Sonia, Lillie, and Hau were left alone to continue chatting.

“Over here’s where we do our research. I had Hop fill out some paperwork last night, and apparently he never left the lab. That’s why he was so tired.”

“Wow! Must be hard work being an assistant!” Lillie observed.

“I suppose—though most days I go easy on him,” she winked, “Let’s see… these charts here are meant to monitor the levels of Dynamax energy all over the region. We check them regularly to make sure there’s no problems. Oh—and these are some books I’ve written!”

Sonia pointed to a set of five books which were being displayed proudly on top of a nearby shelf.

“This first one I ever wrote was about Galar’s heroes, Zacian and Zamazenta. I also talked about how our current champion, Gloria, defeated the Pokémon Eternatus and saved the Galar region! It’s pretty decent stuff, but one of my most amateur works if you ask me,” she laughed.

“Do you have any Pokémon here other than this one?” Hau asked, holding up the squirmy Yamper in his arms. It yipped happily.

“Oh—yes, I do! And that one, in case you’re curious, is called a Yamper. He’s my personal partner.”

Sonia ushered them around to observe Hop’s team of Pokémon, which were relaxing in various corners around the room.

“…and lastly, this is Cinderace—Hop’s first Pokémon! He received it as a Scorbunny from his brother Leon at the start of his gym challenge, and now it’s fully evolved!”

Cinderace waved politely to Lillie and Hau.

“What a cool Pokémon!” Hau remarked excitedly, “Over in Alola, I chose the grass type Decidueye. Figured I’d give my friend a head start—since she picked the fire type.”

“Ah, Decidueye! From what I’ve heard, that’s a popular choice in Alola,” Sonia laughed, “Do you happen to have it on you? I’ve never seen one up close before.”

“Sure! Come out buddy!” Hau tossed up a Poké Ball, and his Decidueye materialized in front of them.

It chirped excitedly, happy to be free of its small living space.

“Woah!” Sonia exclaimed, excited to see the huge Pokémon up close, “Awesome!”

She snapped a picture and immediately began writing notes.

“I’ve got to take advantage of this moment while I have it! Who knows when I’ll ever see this Pokémon again?”

Lillie laughed, “It’s okay professor—we’ll be in town for a few weeks, so you can take as many notes as you like during then.”

“Oh. Good to know!” she laughed, putting her journal away.

“Say…” Hau said suddenly, still looking at Cinderace, “This Pokémon was a battler, wasn’t it? I can tell by lookin’ at its muscles and all the battle scars.”

Cinderace puffed up its chest proudly at the remark.

Sonia grinned, “Impressive, huh? You should’ve seen it in its prime! Hop used to be on the telly _all_ the time. I got to see a lot of his gym battles, and I’ll tell you—they were really impressive! His Cinderace was a real _ace_ back then.”

“Miss Sonia, I have a question,” Lillie piped up, “Is Hop the Chairman’s younger brother? I happened to notice some resemblance when I saw him earlier.”

“Oh, did you? Yeah, they’re brothers alright. I swear they look more alike with each passing day,” she grinned.

Hau’s jaw dropped, “Wait—really!? Hop’s the Chairman’s younger brother!? Talk about pressure… those are some crazy-big shoes to fill. After all, Leon was also the previous champion, wasn’t he?” he paused, “Wait… then what’s he doing here? No offense, but by your description, shouldn’t Hop be the champion right about now?”

Upon hearing Hau’s question, Sonia’s smile faltered. She sighed heavily, rubbing her neck as she recalled the many late nights at the lab where Hop was so delirious with fatigue, he’d start venting to Sonia about how much he regretted losing his battles with Gloria. He’d rest his head on the coffee table, an empty mug next to him, and his hand ironically texting Gloria a happy-sounding reply to something she’d sent him.

_Those were rough days…_

Shaking out of her temporary daze, she managed a reasonable response, “Sadly, no… Hop didn’t make it to the final bracket of the tournament. He lost to his best friend before he could fight any of the gym leaders, and she’s still the champion to this day—undefeatable and talented as ever. Hop refused to admit it for a while, but that loss really got to him. I haven’t seen him battle anyone for a few years now…”

“Oh-no—that’s so sad! He lost to his best friend… that must’ve really stung,” Lillie replied, eyebrows knitting in concern.

“Yeah. However,” Sonia continued, brightening her tone of voice, “ I reckon Hop’s interested in picking it up again! Yesterday, Leon and I caught him messing around with his Pokémon in the wild area. Seemed to me he was battling when no one was watching!”

“Ah, well that’s great to hear!” Hau grinned, relieved, “Speaking of which, do you perhaps have any footage of Hop’s matches? I’m so curious now!”

Sonia glanced at the bathroom, a little worried about the idea of Hop catching them watching his old battles.

“I do, but…” she hesitated, “Well, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to show them off a little bit, but let’s be quick about it. I’ll pull up his tournament match—that one’s brilliant! Even though he technically loses.”

Sonia pulled up the match on PokéTube and casted it to the TV wirelessly. After adjusting the settings, the recording of the match was playing smoothly.

“He’s so young!” Lillie noticed instantly, “How old was he?”

“Sixteen, I think. He’s eighteen now—for reference.”

“Who’s the girl?” Hau asked curiously.

“That’s Gloria. She’s a year older than Hop in this clip.”

“Huh…” Hau mumbled, “Weird. She seems a bit…” he thought quietly for a moment.

Sonia raised an eyebrow, “Something odd?”

Hau hesitated, then shook his head, “It’s nothing. She just seems a bit familiar to me—but I’m sure it’s just my imagination.”

* * *

“Thank goodness…” Hop sighed, finally getting his hair under control.

It took a substantial amount of combing and hair gel to fix it, but finally it was back to normal. Satisfied, he looked at himself in the mirror. The only thing he couldn’t really fix was the bent frame of his glasses.

“I’ll have to get these adjusted soon…”

After tucking in his shirt, Hop slipped his lab coat back on, and placed his hand on the doorknob. He could hear three voices happily chatting and wandering around the lab. He smiled, excited to help show them around, but then noticed the seam of his shirt was facing towards him.

“What the—when did I turn this inside out!?”

Embarrassed, he rushed back over to the mirror and pulled off his lab coat and dress shirt. He was in the middle of fixing it when he heard the conversation beyond his door suddenly involve him.

“…Sadly, no… Hop didn’t make it to the final bracket of the tournament. He lost to his best friend before he could fight any of the gym leaders, and she’s still the champion to this day—undefeatable and talented as ever. Hop refused to admit it for a while, but that loss really got to him. I haven’t seen him battle anyone for a few years now…”

Hop stopped where he was, his shirt still in his hands.

_Are they… talking about my gym challenge? Why?_

Curious, he pressed his ear against the door. Sure enough, they were discussing his old matches like it was nobody’s business.

 _Thanks, Sonia! You_ had _to go and run your mouth to these strangers—and they’re_ famous _strangers, of all people!_

Frustrated, he pulled his shirt back on, not bothering to tuck it in this time. After slipping into his lab coat, he twisted the knob open and started tiptoeing his way downstairs. They were all sitting on the couch facing the TV, watching his match against Gloria.

_Ugh—I’m going to get her for this!_

When he reached the bottom, however, his anger fizzled out for some reason. He wasn’t sure why, but something about the way his Pokémon were happily gazing at his old match made him suddenly feel nostalgic. With a sigh, he sat down on the stairs, and watched his match from afar.

“Dang it—why is she so strong!?” he listened to himself say as his Pincurchin got taken down by her Togedemaru.

Hop closed his eyes, recalling the battlefield. There he was: holding his fainted Pincurchin, now with only two Pokémon left to battle, while Gloria still had five more remaining. Everything he did after losing Pincurchin was out of frustrated desperation. He brought out his Snorlax, hoping to take down the Togedemaru, but she had the nerve to switch to a different Pokémon.

Tears started to form in the back of his eyes. He was getting more and more upset as the battle came to a close.

When Hop opened his eyes again, he could see it. There was a brief camera shot that caught the glossiness of his eyes as he desperately tried not to cry on TV. Anyone paying attention could tell that Hop was about ready to throw in the towel.

Hop sighed, the pain of losing coming back to him a little bit. After a few more minutes, the battle was over. Gloria won, and carried on to her next match without him.

“Oh no…” Lillie said suddenly, pointing to the background, “You can see Hop right there on the stadium. He seems really upset.”

“I was.” Hop cut in, standing up again.

A pit fell in Sonia’s stomach and she instantly turned off the TV.

“Hop!” she shouted fearfully, jumping to her feet as she stared at him.

There was an uncomfortable pause.

“Uh…” Hop sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, “Listen guys, I really—”

“That was AWESOME!” Hau shouted suddenly, blasting out all three of their eardrums. Thrilled, he leapt off the couch and spun to look Hop directly in the eyes, “That match was FIRE! Even though you lost, that was so freaking COOL! I mean—Lillie! Did you see the SIZE of that Cinderace when it Dynamaxed!?”

As he pumped his fists and shouted for joy, the other three glanced at each other with bewildered and concerned looks on their faces.

“Hau—uh, calm down for a moment!” Lillie interrupted.

Hau grabbed her shoulders, a look of fiery determination in his eyes, “I need more! Galar’s Pokémon battles are so cool—they look like real sports! Which I mean, all regions do—but Galar does it REALLY well!”

“Well—uh…” Sonia mumbled, glancing at Hop.

“That’s enough, guys…” Hop laughed, and suddenly the chaos died down a bit, “I’ll admit, Sonia. I was pretty upset to find you three watching my losing championship match, but honestly, I’ve gotten over it.”

Gloria’s face reentered his mind.

 _It’s a lot easier to forgive her now that we’re dating…_ he realized.

“This girl seems like a lot of fun!” Hau commented, laughing, “Can I meet her? Oh—can I battle her too!?”

Hop shrugged, “Uh well… she’s pretty busy these days. I can never figure out where she is.”

 _I say that, but I honestly just don’t feel like introducing this guy to her,_ he thought grumpily, _I’ve got enough competition as it is—dealing with that snob Bede…_

“Oh for real?” he sighed, “Dang…”

Lillie laughed, “Hau we’re not here on vacation! We’re here to work hard and research Galarian Pokémon!”


	22. Memory Twenty-One - Alola's Great Disaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group of scientists (plus Hau) decide to relax at the Motostoke library rather than stay in the lab. While there, Hop notices a picture Lillie has of her old friends, containing two girls named Selene and Ria. When he asks about it, Lillie goes into detail about a horrible tragedy that happened in Alola which may or may not be connected to Gloria's past.

Hop leaned back in his chair drowsily as he listened to Sonia, Hau, and Lillie chat. Somehow, rather than give them a short tour of the area, Sonia had dragged him and the others all across the Galar region to show them various holiday spots. At the moment, they were lounging in a massive library, talking about something Hop wasn’t interested enough to listen to.

Before he could drift off to sleep however, a chipper voice suddenly popped into his ear.

“Hey! Are you still listening?”

He opened his eyes, immediately discovering Lillie’s sulky face very close to his. Surprised, he jolted back a bit, averting his eyes away from her near gaze.

“Y-yeah.” he lied, “Didn’t need to startle me like that…”

Even though Hop was interested in Gloria, he couldn’t help but notice Lillie’s fair hair and rosy cheeks. For an Alolan, she had more physical traits of a Galarian native—just looking at her was enough to make him uneasy. He had to quickly remind himself he was already dating someone else.

“Oh. Sorry then!” she apologized, an adorable smile returning to her cheeks.

After she looked away from him, he rolled his eyes and sighed, returning a disgruntled fist beneath his chin.

“As I was saying,” Lillie continued, “This place really reminds me of the library in Alola. It’s so big! In fact—here, let me show you a picture.”

Hop glanced at her phone as she withdrew it from her purse. After typing in a few digits, the wallpaper changed from a cute Alolan Vulpix, to a picture of three teenagers eating lunch at a table. At a glance, he could easily spot young versions of Hau and Lillie in the frame, though there were two other people he didn’t quite recognize.

There was one girl on the left sitting just next to Hau, who had shoulder-length black hair, and dark, greyish-blue eyes. She was also wearing a bright pink hat with a Poké Ball logo on it, and had a silly, open-mouthed smile on her face. The other girl had her hands in her lap shyly, and was barely managing a quaint smile. Her eyes were squinted closed, and her hair was dark brown—slightly shorter than the other girl’s hair, resting just at her jawline.

“What’s that?” Hop asked quickly, pointing to the wallpaper before Lillie changed screens.

“My wallpaper?” her faced reddened, “I-it’s nothing!” she said quickly, turning away from Hop, “Just an old picture. It’s a bit embarrassing…”

“Hey lemmie see!” Hau interrupted suddenly, making her squeal as he took the phone out of her hands.

“Hey!”

“Wow this is a really old picture Lillie,” he grinned, “Where did you get it?”

Lillie sighed and began pouting again, “I just forgot to change it. That’s been my wallpaper for years now…”

“Who’re the other two girls?” Hop asked.

Hau glanced at the two others in the picture.

“Oh—those two? They’re friends of ours. We met during our island challenge about six years back. The black-haired girl there is our buddy Selene. She’s been busy traveling with an associate of hers. I don’t remember his name, but they work for some kind of travel magazine.”

“And the brown-haired girl?”

“Oh. Her?” looking at the second girl, Hau’s smile faltered.

Hop nodded.

The girl was around the same age as Lillie and Hau. She was wearing a white blouse with a violet ribbon, and had a cute purple bow in her hair to match. Though he’d never seen her before, something was familiar about her face. With her eyes shut, however, Hop couldn’t tell exactly who she was.

“That’s an old friend of ours.” Lillie interrupted, “Her name’s Ria—though it’s been years since we’ve seen her.”

“She’s not just a friend though,” Hau commented suddenly, staring pensively out the window, “That girl… she was my first love.”

Lillie rolled her eyes, “Oh no… not again…”

“Silence Lillie!” Hau said, suddenly clutching his heart as if he was in pain, “You will never know the pain of an unrequited love!”

“Before he goes on monologuing, Hau basically discovered he had a crush on her right after she moved away. Now he’s obsessed with finding her again—or something like that.”

“Oh if only it were that simple…” Hau lamented melodramatically, “I’d sell my soul if I could just see her again. Not confessing your love to someone is about the most painful regret to live with…”

“Why didn’t you just call her?” Hop asked, confused, “If you two were so close, wouldn’t it make sense for her to tell you where she moved to?”

Hau shook his head and started speaking normally again, “No. She and her mom disappeared overnight. I tried calling her, but the number didn’t exist. It was like she just vanished out of thin air…”

Lillie nodded, “It was very strange… especially since she was the champion at the time.”

Hop blinked in surprise, “She was the champion? How come I never heard of her?”

Hau scoffed, “Man—you didn’t even know who _I_ was. Ria was only the champion for half a year. It’s no wonder you’ve never heard of her.”

“Oh…”

“It’s more likely you heard _about_ her, if anything.” Lillie commented suddenly.

Sonia, Hop, and Hau turned to look at Lillie.

“What does that mean?” Sonia asked, suddenly very curious.

“Well… thing is…” she sighed heavily, “It’s not a story we Alolans like to bring up. It’s a very controversial topic, but if you really want to know, then I guess I can tell you.

“You see, a long time ago—about six years, to be exact, Ria became the champion of Alola. For about three months, nobody had any problems with it. Sure—she was very young. Only twelve years old at the time, but she was very responsible for her age. The reason Ria is such a touchy subject _now_ , is because she’s associated with a horrible disaster.”

Hop and Sonia stiffened.

“A disaster? What kind?” Sonia pressed.

“It was a pandemic,” Lillie clarified, “A virus that started out harmless—even beneficial, honestly. It helped Pokémon grow faster and become stronger over a short period of training. Scientists called it the Pokérus. Anyway, after about a month, the virus took a nasty turn—leveling up Pokémon so fast, they were getting nasty side effects. Some even died from it.”

“So what part was Ria’s fault?” Hop asked, concern knitting his eyebrows together.

“Well… that part’s a little difficult to explain.” Lillie rubbed her neck, “Personally, I don’t believe Ria would _ever_ unleash a deadly virus. I mean—she was young, and had no motive to suddenly do something like that—plus she lent Selene a hand during the whole Necrozma attack. (if you’ve heard about that…) A lot of islanders disagree with me though, and think she went corrupt after becoming champion.”

Sonia slapped her hands down on the table, “That’s absurd!” she shouted, “How could the people turn on her so fast!? She was only twelve!”

Lillie sighed and shook her head, “I know. It’s ridiculous. Not to mention, the evidence linking her to the virus was sketchy at best. It’s true that her Pokémon were the first to be infected, and there were rumors of her being connected with an evil group called Project: Open Dream—but the court case was dropped due to a lack of evidence.

“This upset a lot of people though… they wanted a scapegoat. As a result, Ria’s Pokémon got confiscated, and her title was revoked for an undisclosed amount of time. After that, Hau became the champion, and everyone figured life would go back to normal—but the harassment only worsened when she didn’t receive harsher punishment. A week after the case closed, Ria and her mother disappeared overnight—leaving their house empty. No one knows where she went.”

Hop thought about Lillie’s words carefully, finding something strange in them. The name Project: Open Dream was familiar to him—but why?

Then it hit him.

That slip of tongue he’d heard Gloria utter in her hospital room:

“ _Yesterday I was with my Mom talking about Project: Open Dream, and we—”_

And later, during his date with Gloria, in which she told him about her life in Alola.

_“And don’t worry—I didn’t commit a crime or anything to get my Pokémon confiscated. Instead, I was blamed for something that happened out of my control. I was a scapegoat.”_

The realization hit Hop like a brick.

_Ria. Is that short for… Gloria?_

“In fact,” Lillie went on suddenly, reaching into her bag to pull out a large picture, “I’m partially here so that I can help find Project: Open Dream’s whereabouts.”

“Right. After the incident at Hammerlocke, we decided to give as much information as we could to the officers here,” Hau added.

“With that being said, do you recognize this man?” Lillie asked, pointing to the picture.

The picture was very fuzzy, and had been taken from behind. The man’s face was hidden, but Hop could tell he was very tall, with dark hair and a long, black lab coat.

“Never seen him before. Is he responsible for the accident?” Sonia asked.

Before Lillie could respond, Hop stood up. As he jumped up, his chair fell back and the table shook.

“Do you know him?” Lillie asked, surprised.

“He’s familiar…” Hop blinked at the photograph and shook his head, “What’s his name?”

“Professor Flanders.”

Hop chewed his lip in deep thought, “ I met a guy who looked a bit like him, but he said his name was Farsald, so it could’ve been a weird coincidence. When we met though, it was in a pretty public place. I doubt a wanted man would show up there. However…”

He hesitated, putting a hand on his chin.

 _Should I tell them about Gloria?_ he wondered, but then decided against it, _No. It’s weird how similar Gloria and Ria are, but I can’t jump to conclusions. After all—if they_ are _the same person, Gloria’s presence at Hammerlocke could possibly incriminate her for the tragedy in Alola years back, and I_ know _she couldn’t have done something like that. For now, I’m just going to answer their question and investigate later on my own._

“I recognize the name Flanders and Open Dream,” he responded carefully.

Lillie straightened, “Wait—you do? From where?”

Hop recalled the incident at Hammerlocke and remembered the second body he witnessed at the scene.

“Flanders was the name of the man who was dead at the site. He also apparently went mi—”

“It’s a lie.” Hau cut in bitterly.

There was a brief silence as Hop turned to look at Hau’s serious face.

“What?”

“Flanders can’t be dead. The man’s a master of escape—he’s faked his death so many times, it’s not even surprising these days.”

“Oh…” Hop cleared his throat, “I guess that explains why his body went missing from the coroner’s. Anyway, I heard the name Project: Open Dream from a friend of mine. She told me to forget it, but I just couldn’t…”

“What did she say about them?” Lillie pressed, concern ebbing across her face.

“Not much. We spoke after the Hammerlocke incident,” Hop paused, carefully wording his answer, “She… only mentioned them briefly. It was just a slip of tongue I guess.”

“This friend of yours… what did you say her name was?” Hau asked.

Hop flinched, _Did I say too much?_

“I… refuse to say,” was all he muttered, “She has nothing to do with this anyway.”

There was a small pause.

“Alright… if you say so. Is there anything else that you know?”

“No.” Hop shook his head, deciding it would be smarter to stop talking than risk antagonizing Gloria any further, “Everything that happened is between Leon and the police—and mind you, it’s all _strictly_ confidential.”

Lillie sighed and put away the picture.

“Guess we’re back to square one then…” Hau shrugged.

“Yeah… sorry I couldn’t be of more help,” Hop apologized, guilty for holding back information, “Anyway, Let’s change the subject. All this drama’s starting to get to me… after the incident, and Opal’s funeral—I’m kinda done with chaos, I’ll be honest…”

“Right… so sorry to hear about that. Let’s talk about something else,” Lillie agreed, and the conversation proceeded in a different direction.

* * *

An hour later, Hau and Lillie waved goodbye to Sonia and Hop. Though the two visitors planned on doing a lot of touring, they still had work to attend to.

“That was fun!” Sonia grinned, turning back to Hop as they headed towards the station.

“Yeah… until that whole part with Hammerlocke and Open Dream came up.”

“It’s weird though… that friend you mentioned—you were referring to Gloria, right?”

Hop flinched.

Not noticing him, she went on, “I find it strange that both Ria and Gloria both have something to do with this Project: Open Dream nonsense. Heck, the two girls even have similar names. Kinda makes me wonder if it’s really a coincidence…”

Hop glanced at her face. She seemed to be thinking very deeply about the matter, which concerned him.

“I think it’s clearly a coincidence.” Hop answered shortly, not wanting to think about it too much.

“But didn’t her mum say they moved from Alola? Not to mention, Ria has the same brown hair—doesn’t she?”

Hop stiffened. Sonia had always been keen about details—he shouldn’t have been surprised when she discovered these parallels, but with each word Hop was becoming increasingly uneasy. It was as if she was somehow reading his mind and spilling his worries out loud.

“They’re not the same person.” he insisted again.

“She even seems like the right age, if it was all six years ago—”

“That’s enough!” Hop spun to face her directly, his golden eyes flashing with anger, “Gloria would never unleash a deadly virus onto an entire region! Heck, she was a _victim_ of the Hammerlocke accident, remember!? Flanders and her are enemies—I’m sure of that. Don’t you _dare_ start accusing her of things!”

Sonia stepped back fearfully, shocked by his sudden hostility.

“Woah Hop! I—I’m sorry, I was just connecting the dots. You know how I am with mysteries—”

“Well then you should get a grip on that ‘cuz I don’t want to hear another word about this whole thing. Got it?”

She nodded stiffly, allowing Hop to finally relax again.

The train ride back was very awkward. They were both forced to sit next to each other in the crammed compartment, despite the fact that they had just gotten into an argument. When the train ride ended, Hop quickly stepped off the platform and disappeared outside. When Sonia exited after him, she spotted him already over by the lab, where he promptly slammed the door.

She sighed, feeling a bit hurt by the whole episode. Unsure about what to do, she began to walk home.

“What was that all about?” a sudden voice asked.

She looked up. In front of her was the Chairman himself—Leon, leaning against a lamppost. Though his leg was still in a brace, he didn’t seem to need the scooter anymore.

“Leon? What are you doing here?”

“I’m waiting for two associates from Aether to arrive. I heard they were stopping here first, but the place was completely empty.”

“Oh! I’m sorry—Hop and I took them on a little tour over to Motostoke, and we lost track of the time. I believe they’ve already headed off to Wyndon…”

“I see,” he straightened, taking his weight off of the lamppost, “So what’s up with Hop then?”

“Well…” Sonia sighed, and relayed the details of their conversation with Lillie to Leon.

“So you’ve been looking into Gloria’s case then. I see…”

“Do you… know more about it?”

Leon hesitated, then nodded “I do. But I’m sorry Sonia—I really shouldn’t tell you. Gloria wanted me to keep everything confidential.”

“I understand…” Sonia glanced down at her feet for a moment, “But I don’t think you can stop Hop from digging into it now. Something tells me after today, he’s going to go snooping around for answers.”

Leon winced, “Is he? Shoot… it’s really an ugly story…”

“It sounds that way,” Sonia paused, “Leon, I know you can’t tell me everything about Gloria’s connection with Flanders, but could you at least confirm me this one thing?”

“What is it?”

“Are Ria and Gloria… the same person?”

He paused, staring silently up at the clouds above. Then, letting out a long sigh, he looked her dead in the eyes and muttered:

“Yes. They probably are.”


	23. Memory Twenty-Two - Who Are You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disturbed after hearing about the mysterious girl named Ria, Hop asks if Bede and Marnie will help him search for the truth about Gloria—afraid the two girls might be the same person. During their research, an unexpected winter rain storm is swept into Motostoke, drawing the trio's attention to the now-drenched streets of the city. Just as they peer outside to watch the rain, however, a familiar figure kneeling face-down on the concrete prompts them to rush out into the storm.

“Hey.”

Hop looked up from the table.

“You actually showed up.”

Bede and Marnie stood a few feet away from Hop. From the distance, Bede could see several news articles and history books lying across the table. All of them were about the Alola region.

“Don’t tell me you just invited us here to share some research project…” Bede glowered at him.

Hop glared back, “No. This is serious. I wouldn’t have made you come otherwise.”

Bede and Marnie took seats around the table and started looking through the news articles.

“ _Gloria Defeats Champion Hau During 201X Pokémon League_ … _Pokérus Rampages Across Galar—Champion to Blame_ … _Champion Gloria, 12 Year-Old Prodigy Goes Missing_ —what is all this?”

Hop looked away silently.

“There’s some Galarian articles here too…” Marnie noticed, “ _Challenger Gloria Crushes Undefeatable Champion, 20XX Championship Cup_ … _As Talented as She is Scary, Trainer Gloria_ …”

“Well?” Bede asked, irritated, “You going to explain what all this is about?”

Hop looked down at the documents and chewed his thumb worriedly.

“Earlier today… Sonia and I had a pair of Alolan visitors. Are you familiar with the individuals: Lillie and Hau?”

Marnie shrugged, but Bede nodded his head once.

“I’ve heard of them. Hau is the current champion of Alola, is he not? And Lillie is on the research team at Aether. Wicke is the president, but Lillie’s sort of been the face of the company since Lusamine stepped down.”

“So you _do_ know them,” Hop huffed, “I hadn’t heard of them until today. Anyway, I ended up coming across a picture from six years ago… it was on Lillie’s phone. She said it was of her friends Ria and Selene, or something like that,” he swallowed hard at the mentioning of the picture, “Ria’s the one that caught my attention. Apparently she was involved in a tragedy some years ago back in the Alola region…”

“Ria, huh?” Marnie repeated, looking down at the articles, “Does that explain th’ articles you rummaged for?”

Hop didn’t speak for a moment. Rather, he slumped back in his chair defeatedly, eyebrows furrowed at the collection of articles.

“I’m just… uncertain about things,” he proceeded carefully, “You two… you remember what happened at Hammerlocke—we were _all_ there. We saw Gloria get injured, and we were there when she blew us off at the hospital.” suddenly his eyes darkened with deeper concern, “Something isn’t right, and I think we all know _that_ too.”

Bede, though unconvinced he should be concerned, took a seat at the table and began to observe the articles further. None of them had many pictures, but below the headline _Gloria Defeats Champion Hau During 201X Pokémon League,_ there was an image of a young girl with brown hair resting just beneath shoulders in length. She had her back towards the camera, so her face was not in view, but poised in front of her was an elegant Primarina.

“Huh. What a coincidence,” Bede shrugged, tossing the newspaper back onto the table.

The casualness of Bede’s response caused Hop’s head to snap back to Bede’s face.

“What do you mean, ‘coincidence’? This is a lot more than just _that!_ ”

“Oh you think so?” Bede raised an eyebrow challengingly, glancing once again at the article titles, “Well according to this news clipping, you’re implying that our friend Gloria is the same girl that unleashed a deadly virus on Alola—isn’t that right? You seriously expect me to believe something like that?”

Hop clenched his fists, _I knew it wouldn’t be easy getting Bede on my side, but he’s a lot closer to Gloria these days. He probably knows loads more things about her than I do—if I could only get him to stay…_

“That’s true, but…” Hop tried to search for a response, but couldn’t come up with anything.

Bede took his pause as an opportunity to interrupt again, “You know what I think, Hop?” he continued, sliding the clippings into a neat stack in the center of the table, “I think you got extremely lucky, is all. I mean—it’s almost funny. Somehow, you met some random pair of Alolans who happened to have a dark-haired friend they called ‘Ria’, who may or may not be guilty of some tragedy. But I mean—that’s just ridiculous, really.”

“How so?”

He shrugged nonchalantly, “Well for starters, ‘Ria’ could be short for anything. Rhianna, Gabriella, Maria… those are just a few possibilities. Not to mention, Gloria’s never mentioned those two in her life. If they’re so important to her, wouldn’t she have said something by now?”

Removing his hand from the stack of articles, Bede leveled his gaze with Hop a second time.

“I’m not going to help you uncover conspiracy theories, Hop,” he finished, rising from his seat, “Not without concrete proo—”

“You want proof?”

Stunned to hear Hop sounding so hostile, Bede’s eyes widened.

“I’ll get straight to the point this time.” Hop resumed again, now through gritted teeth, “The reason I called you two here, is because ‘Ria’ and the Alolan tragedy both were associated with the mysterious Project: Open Dream and Professor Flanders.”

He looked up again to capture Marnie and Bede’s stunned expressions.

“Gloria let slip that she’s associated with Project: Open Dream, and that she knows Flanders. But look here:” he disorganized the articles again and quickly retrieved the headline _Champion Gloria, 12 Year-Old Prodigy Goes Missing,_ “Gloria told me lately, that she was temporarily the Champion of Alola—same as _Ria,_ mind you. Then, due to a mysterious accident (aka the Pokérus outbreak), Ria and Gloria were stripped of their titles and had their Pokémon confiscated.

“Following that, Ria went missing, and Gloria moved here to Galar. I checked the dates—the timing of these events fits perfectly. Is that enough proof for you, Bede?”

The silence in the room was enough to raise the hairs on their skin. Bede glanced at Marnie, who was looking down at her shoes in discomfort, before he finally returned to his seat. Once he was seated, Marnie quietly shuffled into a nearby chair as well, and turned her attention to Hop.

Finally, after another long, uncomfortable silence, Hop spoke again.

“Listen guys,” he sighed, rolling his tense shoulders back, “we may only be acquaintances, but Gloria is _our_ friend. We can all agree on that, right?”

They both nodded.

“So that’s why I don’t want to leave this place until I have a definitive answer. If Gloria and Ria are different people, then thank Arceus. But even if it turns out they’re the same, I…” his voice trailed off for a moment, remembering something distant and bitter from their friendship, “I promise I won’t turn my back this time.”

Bede understood Hop’s words well—better than Marnie did, perhaps. He almost closed his eyes to remember that moment following their tournament, where he stumbled upon Hop and Gloria mid-argument in the trainer’s prep lobby. It ended with both of them hoarse from yelling, tears in their eyes, and Hop slamming the locker room door so hard it nearly rattled out of its frame. Two years followed that argument, where Gloria and Hop remained very distant for the whole duration.

 _Now that you’ve got her again,_ Bede realized, observing the way Hop’s eyes were rippling with determination, _You’re dead-set on keeping her to stay—aren’t you?_

Placing a pensive hand on his chin, Bede let out a deep sigh and nodded to Hop.

“Very well…” he agreed, straightening up, “I can’t sense an ulterior motive from you, at least. You seem eager for only the truth. But again—don’t be surprised when all this turns out to be some crazy coincidence.”

Hop nodded, “Honestly, I hope that’s all this is. But either way—” he cracked his knuckles and slipped on the glasses that were dangling loosely around his neck, “Let’s get this search started!”

* * *

Just down the street from the library, citizens of Motostoke were walking briskly along the sidewalks, watching the sun set over the distant mountains. Among them, standing aloofly to the side, elbows resting on the metal railing, stood Gloria. Despite her fame, all it took to go unnoticed was a plain jumper, and the absence of her iconic, green beret.

With each murmur in the street, Gloria’s ears twitched. She was listening to the words of the people as they passed by. Most of it was plain conversation—nothing ear-catching or interesting in the slightest. The only reason she bothered listen was out of her own paranoia.

After visiting Professor Flanders, she hadn’t been able to properly calm herself back down. His voice was in her ears—reminding her and coaxing her on just as he had done those many years ago.

 _Why did he have to come back?_ she pleaded, blinking slowly, _Just when I was about to finally be… happy._

“It’s been so dry lately…” a girl mumbled, looking up at the sky.

A boy to her left, likely her boyfriend, nodded in agreement, “Yeah… I mean, up in Stow-on-Side they got some snow, but other than that, there’s been nothing for nearly three months now.”

They mumbled on, Gloria not bothering to listen to most of it. She was still in her head—mind swirling about with questions and fears regarding her friends.

_All this nonsense about paradoxes and wishes and love triangles… what does he even intend to do with all of it? Why does he… need me?_

“I wish it would rain already.”

Gloria suddenly stiffened.

“After a summer this dry, we could use a bit of precipitation…”

It was the girl nearby who’d said it. Those cursed words: “I wish”.

Her words had nothing to do with Gloria at all—it was just a harmless conversation between two people whom had never met her; yet something about those words seemed to cripple Gloria on the inside.

Suddenly her eyes were spinning out of focus from the world. The equilibrium in her ears dove downwards, and Gloria’s knees plunged against the hard sidewalk. Her heartbeat was screaming inside of her head, ringing and echoing with every pulse—reminding her over and over again that she, the cursed child—the literal “shooting star”, was alive. Her right palm slipped from the railing to sustain her remaining balance on the concrete, while her left hand remained stiffly grasped overhead.

“Oh my—is she okay?” someone whispered.

“Eeh… there’s a bar nearby. That’s probably all there is to it—just keep walking…”

The lack of empathy in the onlooker’s voices cut into Gloria’s throat. Each whisper she heard felt like a dagger to her heart—a personal attack on her own life. She squeezed her eyes shut as her vision turned red, eyes still spinning and reeling behind her useless eyelids.

 _SHUT-UP! What am I—a toy!? A spectacle for your enjoyment!? SCREW that wish of yours! You want rain!?Am I a goddess!?_ her grip tightened, turning her fingers white as snow from the strength of her fury.

_I don’t want to grant that stupid wish!_

Those words looped inside of her head, banging around the inside of her skull as she gasped for air. Suddenly, overhead there was a loud CRACK! from the sky. The people on the streets pointed in surprise as huge, black clouds rushed in, bringing sheets of rain along with them.

In those few remaining moments where everything was still dry, onlookers fled immediately away in a stampede towards whatever structures were nearby. Even as the people left her, however, Gloria remained where she was on the ground. The rain finally rolled in, sending immediate waterfalls dripping down the roots of her hair and flooding the soles of her shoes. As it poured over her, Gloria felt a wave of exhaustion suddenly overtake her body, causing her left hand to slip down from the rail until it was limp at her side.

In her mind, however, she remained ferocious.

_Shut-up, shut-up, shut-up—!_

Her closed eyes strained as she grinded her teeth. Pain surged through the arteries of her heart from her racing pulse, and she immediately gripped the area with her right hand. It was like a heart attack, but without the ending. All Gloria was left with was unbearable, immeasurable pain as she wheezed in a miserable heap on the drenched cement.

Then finally, following a hearty gulp of oxygen, the pain began to relent.

She sank down in relief, the sidewalk now pressing gently against her skull, and she allowed her hands to cover her ears from the malice of the storm.

_There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. No forecast in Galar could’ve predicted a storm as sudden as this…_

“What a wretch I’ve become.” she choked, tears finally spilling from her eyes to mix with the fresh droplets of cold rain.

* * *

“Nothing…” Hop sighed, resting his head on the wood of the library table.

Despite all the research the group put in, their hours of searching yielded them nothing. It seemed all of the information on Open Dream and the Pokérus had been intentionally deleted from the face of the media.

“I suppose we should call it quits for today then…” Bede sighed, glancing out the window.

“Dang… this’ll drive me crazy not knowing, but what choice d’ we have?” Marnie commented, watching as sheets of rain dumped onto the streets of Motostoke.

There was a quiet pause before Hop suddenly changed the subject.

“I didn’t know there was going to be any rain today…”

“There wasn’t. The forecast predicted clear skies all day, but well…” Marnie shrugged.

Bede remained silent as he watched the water pour into the streets.

“How are we going to all get home at this rate? This rain is so bad, I wouldn’t even _consider_ walking all the way to the train station—let alone take a Corviknight taxi…” Bede realized, grimacing at his own observation.

Hop sighed, “I don’t know. Guess we’ll just have to wait until it calms down.”

For the meantime, the three resumed lounging around in the library’s comfortable chairs. There were plenty of entertaining books to look at, other than the articles on their table, so finding something to do wasn’t hard. Regardless, for whatever reason, a small congregation of people had gathered over at the window—a group large enough to halt the three’s attempt to relax.

“Is that a person…?” someone mumbled.

“In _this_ weather? Are they out of their mind?”

“What are they even doing? Is something wrong with them?”

Bede sat up and squinted out the far window, but couldn’t see anything past the clamor of bodies. Eventually, his uneasiness at the sight prompted him to get the other’s attention.

“Oi—get up. Something’s not right.”

Hop and Marnie blinked confusedly at first, but then noticed the crowd.

“What’s going on?” Hop asked.

“Dunno. Let’s go check it out.”

Cautiously, they stepped towards the group and peered through the glass. The rain was coming down intensely, making it nearly impossible to see anything outside. However, in the faint light of a lamppost, Hop could make out the figure of a girl kneeling head-first on the concrete.

“What—is that a person?” Marnie asked, raising an eyebrow, “Who are they? And what are they doing out in that monsoon?”

Her question fell on deaf ears. Slowly, a lump formed in Bede’s throat as he realized who the person was. Impulsively, he whipped his head towards the exit and rushed away from the window to cross the room.

Judging by the pink jumper and the familiar outline of her waist-length hair, it could only be one person.

“It’s Gloria—holy Arceus, it’s Gloria—” Hop gasped frantically, shoving past Bede before he could make it out the doors first.

Refusing to be left behind, Bede picked up his pace so he was only a stride behind Hop, and ignored Marnie’s: “Hey! What are you fools doing!?” as Hop thrust open the front doors ahead of him.

The two were immediately met with buckets of heavy rain. Bede gasped as water shredded through his vision, and quickly lifted his arm across his face as a shield. Hop, just as stunned by the sheer force of the rain, stumbled as he sought after Gloria’s figure.

“GLORIA!” Hop yelled, but his words were swallowed up in the storm.

He continued to stumble towards her, concern and fear rising in his throat as he observed her keeled-over, helpless position. He tried calling her name again, but as he closed the distance, he noticed her hands were blocking her ears—making it impossible for his words to reach her.

Seeing that Hop’s attempts were in vain, Bede closed the distance in one brisk stride. When he was at Gloria’s side, he placed his hand gently on her shoulder and shouted her name.

When she felt his hand, Gloria looked up.

Though Hop was initially annoyed at Bede for passing him, the fight left them the moment he looked into her eyes. Her pupils were shrunken and trembling in fear, and her mouth was quivering in terror as rain beat across her face. The silver irises were back again—swirling and cold as ever as they reflected the faint light of the streets.

“What are you doing out here!? You should be indoors with rain this bad!” Bede finally shouted, regaining his composure after witnessing her look of terror.

As she met his gaze, her face went pale with realization. Her eyes then drifted to the sizes of waxing moons as the weight of what she’d done fell upon her shoulders.

“I don’t know,” she whispered shortly.

Finally taking her hands away from her ears, the rain around them suddenly relented somewhat—as if the boys’ presence had somehow indirectly calmed the storm. When she didn’t say anything else, Bede sighed.

“Let’s get you indoors then,” he glanced up at Hop, a concerned expression across his face.

Understanding, Hop swallowed down his jealousy and stepped to this side so the two of them could pass. Chivalrously, Bede took Gloria’s hand and helped her to her feet. Naturally, it was freezing to touch—like the smooth face of an iceberg, even. But what surprised him most was the unnatural racing of her pulse, as if her heart were a literal drum pounding behind her ribs.

_That can’t be a good thing._

On the way back to the library, the rain around them slowly began to lessen with each trudging step. Though Hop was behind them, only allowed to watch as Bede so generously guided Gloria, _his_ girlfriend, indoors, Hop didn’t have the energy to feel upset. Gloria’s presence here was a mystery again, just as it was at the funeral, and he couldn’t help but wonder where she kept disappearing to.

When the doors finally opened, Marnie was the first to rush towards them, towel in hand.

“You dim-wits!” she yelled, “Running out into the storm without y’r coats—what d’ya think you are, water-types!?”

Frustrated at the two’s lack of common sense, Marnie wrapped the towel around Gloria’s stiff shoulders.

“Thank you…” she finally whispered, letting go of Bede’s hand.

Bede exhaled deeply, finally releasing his breath of air he had subconsciously been holding.

“What were you doing out in the rain?” Hop finally asked as Gloria began drying herself off.

Gloria paused.

“I don’t…” she shook her head, “It…”

Suddenly tears sprung into her eyes. Before she could do anything to stop herself, they were rolling down her cheeks and joining the other water droplets on the carpet.

“No!” she buried her face in the towel, “I can’t have you all see me like this… I’m not right!” she choked, “It’s j-just like that day at the hospital—I’m not myself right now!”

Bede stood there quietly, unsure what to say. He wanted to comfort her—wanted to reassure her and help her relax, but with the presence of the other two, he couldn’t swallow his pride. Even after months of training and warming up to people, Bede was still extremely uncomfortable with handling emotionally stressful situations.

“Hey, hey… it’s alright,” Marnie soothed, placing a reassuring arm around her, “We’re your friends. You can always talk ta’ us.”

Face still buried in the towel, Gloria nodded. When she finally took the towel away, she had managed to stop crying, and moved on to dry her dripping hair.

“Oi—you two bums,” Marnie said suddenly, “Go get your own towels. I’ve only got the one.”

Bewildered, Hop looked around the room, unsure where to find one. Bede, on the other hand, rolled his eyes, kicked off his soaked shoes, and shuffled over to a nearby chair. When he was seated, he reached into his bag and pulled out a medium-sized towel.

“You keep a towel on you?” Hop asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Of course,” Bede responded sharply, as if it were an obvious thing to do, “On days where it rains, I need to have one on me or else my hair’ll be all over the place.”

When Hop continued to raise his eyebrow at him, Bede glared back and rolled his eyes.

“What—you think this fluff is easy to maintain? Try having curly hair for a day—I _dare_ you.”

On the nearby couch, Gloria managed a tiny smile at his remark. Though it was quick, that small smile of hers finally allowed the other three to relax in their seats.

“I’m sorry I worried you all… I don’t know what happened to me…” Gloria finally managed.

“As long as you’re okay, we’re okay,” Hop answered reassuringly, receiving the towel from Gloria once she was finished with it.

As the rain continued to fall outside, Gloria stood up and stretched.

“What were you three all doing here anyway?”

The sudden question struck them all cold. They’d all completely forgotten about their little research project, and the evidence of their handiwork was still scattered across the table for all to see.

“That’s, we—” Bede stumbled, trying to come up with a decent lie.

Hop on the other hand, sprung up and instantly started snatching the news articles. Gloria, as if somehow knowing they were about her, rushed over to see what he was doing and immediately reached for one of the clippings.

 _No you idiot! Don’t panic!_ Bede cursed in his head, but it was too late.

“What’re you doing?” she pressed, “What is it?” there was an edge to her voice that chilled Hop’s spine as he moved the articles away from her direct reach.

_Hop you fool—_

“Tell me!” Gloria pleaded, her voice raising.

Hop finally pulled them into his hand and drew them high above his head.

“It’s nothing! We were just researching something!” he argued, pulling a paper he missed out of her hands.

“HOP!”

Her voice rang out in the room as she furiously grabbed Hop’s vacant right wrist.

The gesture snapped Bede and Marnie’s attention to her in an instantly. Other than the time at the station, Hop had almost never heard Gloria raise her voice—with the other exception being their argument from two years ago. Bede, on the other hand, had _definitely_ heard her angry voice before, and knew to stop everything he was doing or else face her worst.

Gloria, determined to force Hop into dropping the articles, slipped her fingers into the hand she was currently grasping. As a result, Hop’s face flushed enough that his left hand lost its firm grasp, and she was able to steal an article out of the stack. It read: _Gloria Responsible for the Devastation of Alola. Pokémon Confiscated, Title Revoked._

When her eyes landed on the words, they shot open. The room descended into an eerie silence, and the blood drained away until her cheeks were left ghostly white. Her eyes, now vacant with horror, shrank back in betrayal as her hands clenched around the edges of the article—wrinkling it. Then overhead, there was a loud BOOM, and lightning lit the walls of the room as her hands finally released the paper to fall soundlessly onto the burgundy floor.

Her mouth opened, rapid, quivering breaths escaping her throat, and her legs began carrying her opposite direction of the group. Her back hit the wall, lungs gasping for air, and her eyes frozen stiffly on the discarded news clipping now presented in front of her like deadly evidence.

“Gloria…” Bede began, fear draining the color from his face.

Marnie looked down at her shoes, unable to respond.

“It’s a dream,” Gloria finally choked, “Surely this is all just a bad—”

She swayed dangerously for a moment before placing a stunned hand over her mouth. Bede, worried she’d faint, nearly outstretched his hand—but hesitated when he realized she likely wouldn’t accept it. Then, with a gut-wrenching sob, Gloria clasped her abdomen and sank to the floor.

“What is this?” she whispered, her words spilling through their ears like a heartbroken melody.

Bede opened his mouth, but couldn’t find the courage to speak. He glanced warily at Hop, but he’d surrendered all responsibility, and began gazing dejectedly at the far corner of the room instead.

_We can’t worm our way out of this one._


	24. Memory Twenty-Three - A Star Falls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Though the truth causes Gloria great pain to accept, she finally confirms she is the girl named Ria—the one blamed for the Alolan tragedy. Despite gaining some of her trust, Gloria still chooses to only leave the trio with vague puzzle pieces about the nature of Project: Open Dream. As a result, they look into it more, and discover an old legend that strangely makes sense of Gloria's constant ramblings about "shooting stars".

“We’re sorry!” Marnie exclaimed painfully, bowing over to express her repentance, “Hop came to us with information, and we got curious—” she stopped herself and shook her head, “No… that’s no excuse. We stayed n’ looked at all this because we were worried ‘bout you. We just wanted t’ know the truth.”

Gloria’s arms wrapped around her legs as she continued to stare silently at the newspaper.

“The truth?” she finally whispered, her voice grave and low, “Listen. I don’t know what you heard, but this alternate ‘Gloria’ is dead.”

The three stiffened.

“In fact, there never _was_ a Gloria. I made sure of that when I left.” she spoke fiercely, insisting she was telling the truth. However, the fear in her eyes and the contradiction of her words betrayed her as she spoke.

“But Gloria—that’s your name.” Bede insisted, “How can you manage to deny this when the answer is sitting in front of us?”

Marnie and Hop spun to stare at him, surprised he’d chosen to press onward, but when they saw his expression, their eyes froze. Bede’s face had changed. He was stiff with fury, animosity bubbling just beneath his tongue, and his eyes hollow. The sight of him was enough to remind them all of how Bede used to be; back when he was malicious and unkind.

Instead of answering him, Gloria choked. A tear fell from her eye onto the burgundy carpet.

“Isn’t this person you?” he snapped again, “Hop told us about the girl named ‘Ria’, by the way. We know who she is—we _know_ what you’ve been through, it’s just that these two sad saps can’t accept the facts and keep denying who you really are!” he lowered his gaze, his fists now clenched with anger, “You and Ria are the same perso—”

“DO YOU NOT TRUST ME!?”

Heads in the library turned at the sound of her scream.

“Who do you three think you are!?” she carried on, “Prying into business that you have no reason to mess with—all while my back is turned!? Hypocrites!” she covered her ears again, pulling her hair as she curled up on the carpet, “Calling me a liar—snooping around like it’s nobody’s business—just SHUT-UP!”

The storm outside exploded with her sudden outburst. Rain dumped against the windows, rattling the glass and flickering the streetlights as her voice shoved against the vast library walls.

“We don’t trust you!?” Bede yelled back, his temper finally capsizing, “Of course we don’t freaking trust you! If you’re going to hide stuff like this, it’s only natural we’d stop trusting you! Marnie and I stuck around because we didn’t want to believe it—we wanted evidence to prove that you wouldn’t lie to us—that you trusted us too, but I rest my case!”

Her eyes flew back up to Bede’s face, finding he was still boiling with fury, but there were tears forming in his eyes.

“You IDIOT!” he scolded again, pounding his fist into his thigh, “You call us hypocrites for not trusting you when you’re doing the EXACT SAME THING! Gloria, you’re our friend! We just want to help you—and we can’t do that if we’re left in the dark like children!” a tear suddenly slipped down his cheek, and he swiped it away in fury, “When are you going to grow up and realize that, huh!?” then, his voice breaking, Bede placed a shameful across his eyes and bowed his head, “Stop making the same mistakes I did.”

When he was finished shouting, the room once again returned to silence. Bede’s jaw was clenched and his breathing was shallow as he held his gaze in the palm of his hand. He couldn’t look at her—couldn’t accept her words as she so blatantly displayed her mistrust.

Gloria retrieved her hands away from her ears and pulled her knees closer to her body.

“You’re accusing me of not trusting you?” she whispered.

Bede nodded stiffly, still refusing to meet her eyes.

She sat silently for a moment, unable to form words. As she pondered Bede’s accusation, she chewed her bottom lip. Then, after one last minute of thinking, Gloria let out a long painful exhale and dropped her arms to her sides in surrender.

“So then you think I killed those Pokémon? You think I started that virus?” she asked, her voice changing from accusatory to fearful.

Before Bede could do more damage, Hop quickly stepped in—finally deciding to accept the consequences of his actions.

“No.” Hop interrupted, “I don’t know about Bede, but _I_ trust you. It may be true that I went behind your back and did all this, but I would _never_ have ever jumped to that final conclusion you just mentioned. Not without all the pieces.”

He finally turned his head to see her, his face now full of conviction.

“I trust that the person sitting before me would never hurt anyone or anything without reason or explanation. That’s just not who you are. It’s clear to me that we’re missing the final pieces here which will prove your innocence.”

His words, though still fairly blunt, seemed to calm Gloria the tiniest bit as she encircled her knees with her rigid arms.

“So that’s it…” she mumbled softly, letting her head droop in-between her knees, “Then… there’s no point in denying it now, is there?”

As if in slow-motion, Gloria finally stood up—her gaze still fixated on the article at her feet.

“That ‘Ria’ you mentioned, Bede… she’s a nightmare,” she said suddenly, swaying a bit once she was standing, “Stupid, stupid Ria—passive, weak, careless… I thought I’d never hear from her again when I left Alola.” she paused, “But can you even blame her, after learning the things she had to bear?”

She stomped on the article, ripping a hole in it with her wet shoe.

“They think she worked with Project: Open Dream to create the virus.” she shook her head, “Those idiot islanders were fooling themselves. They were blinded by hatred! Ria was just a scapegoat! If they had known what she went through—the pain she suffered through—”

Gloria choked on her words, finally receiving the strength to look up at her three friends. Her eyes shimmered like milky crystals swimming with prism teardrops. Then like a fractal of the moon, a round tear slipped down the curvature of her cheek and caught the light as it dropped soundlessly onto the floor.

“She wasn’t an associate of theirs—she was their toy! Their ‘shooting star’, as he called it! They took me in—they hurt me—they stole away my father, my Pokémon, my title—and NOW they expect me to be COOPERATIVE!? HOW COULD I!?”

Each word spilled out like arrows from her soul. Her friends, though they didn’t understand the context behind most of what she lamented about, knew enough from just her tear-stained face. Gloria was surely a victim of something horrible—something they never should’ve brought to light.

“Save the world—” she went on, “BULLCRAP! I’m done ‘saving the world’! I’d rather die than lose everything again!” she closed her eyes painfully, gasping for air, “W-we moved here to get away from him, and he followed us again. Everywhere we go—he follows us. I’m so sick and tired of everything… all the sacrifices I’ve made and the wishes I’ve granted…” she paused, “the _experiments_ I’ve endured…”

She shuddered at her own word, causing her to slide back onto the ground.

“P-please,” she whispered, her voice pleading now, “I’m begging you… please don’t leave me too. You three are… you’re the only good pieces of me I have left.”

Her final words fell on their shoulders like anvils.

All of the hard work Gloria had spent trying to act cheerful and playful was gone. Her lackadaisical, whimsical approach to life suddenly seemed thousands of kilometers away—ruined by Flanders and his mysterious Project: Open Dream. Whatever they had done to her in the past left an impression so deep, she chose to confine herself inside a metaphorical prison of self-hatred and unforgiveness—isolating her true nature from even her closest friends.

Until now.

Bede, knowing this full well, carefully crossed the room and collected her sobbing form into his arms. She choked for a moment, unsure how to react to his sudden presence.

“You’re not alone.” he finally said, tightening his embrace, “Besides me, you’ve got Hop, Marnie, Piers, Leon… you have people who want to help you. That’s something I never had.”

Her breath staggered again, realizing Bede understood more than anyone what true loneliness felt like.

“He’s right,” Marnie agreed, kneeling beside them to put a kind hand on Gloria’s shoulder, “We believe in you, silly.”

Hop nodded, bowing his head apologetically, “I’m sorry for digging into all this without your permission. If I had known this would happen, I never would’ve attempted.”

Gloria nodded, finally receiving Bede’s hug with a weak raise of her arms. Then, before the length of his comfort could embarrass her, Gloria lightly pressed against his chest to relieve his hug.

“I understand…” she whispered sadly, “But as much as I like hearing you all comfort me, this burden is still mine to bear.”

She wiped her tears quickly, then stood up to face the storm outside.

“You mentioned one last piece to my story was missing, Hop.” she sighed, “I believe you’re all wondering where this random storm came from—and believe it or not, figuring that out will set the final piece into place,” she turned to face them, “You learned about Ria and the Alolan tragedy, right? Now all that’s left is to explain what a shooting star is.” running a hand through her hair once, Gloria stepped forward and placed her hand on the library door.

“Thanks for comforting me you three. I mean it. But there’s still something I have to do,” she glanced up at the clouds as if considering something for a moment, “Maybe we can talk again when this is all over.”

Without saying another word, Gloria forced her palm against the door, and stepped once again out into the raging winter storm. They watched only for a moment as she turned right down the street before once again disappearing from view. Bede, still troubled, ran his fingers through his messy hair as he tried to comprehend her parting words. Hop and Marnie glanced concernedly at each other before finally meeting gazes with Bede.

“Did we get through to her, or is she still… upset?” Hop asked first.

They both remained silent for a moment, trying to find an answer to Hop’s question.

 _Hop’s got a point,_ Bede realized dreadfully, _She just sort of… stepped out. She seemed to forgive us for butting in on her personal life, but there’s still a lot of questions left unanswered. Not to mention,_ he glanced out at the rain, _she went back outside. I can’t say for certain why, but I get the feeling she still doesn’t trust us enough. If she did, she wouldn’t have left on her own like that…_ he bit his lip frustratedly, _I should’ve stopped her or something—at_ least _gone with her in that weather. I’m so foolish…_

Marnie shook her head, finally responding to Hop’s question, “I dunno, Hop. Some things make even less sense than they did before, if ya ask me…”

“We still don’t even know who Project: Open Dream is, or what they’re trying to do. Plus there’s that ‘shooting star’ nonsense again…” Hop shook his head.

Bede sighed, his eyes still staring at the street where Gloria was once standing. As he watched the rain, he wondered more about Project: Open Dream.

“What does their name mean, I wonder…?” he mumbled.

Neither Marnie or Hop knew how to respond. They couldn’t figure out what the name meant either.

“Well it’s clearly a project of some sort, right?” Marnie shrugged, “But what does ‘Open Dream’ mean?”

Hop nodded, “I’m sure that’s the most crucial part of the name… what do you think ‘Dream’ is referring to?”

“Dream? Like—sleeping? Or is it more like, well…” Marnie paused, “Like a wish?”

The three blinked in surprise.

“Wishes.” Hop said suddenly, “Again with the wish theme—is that the final piece then? The name?”

“Perhaps,” Bede shrugged, “But then what could it mean to open a wish?”

“Well,” Hop mulled, placing a hand under his chin, “perhaps it’s not literally _opening_ a wish…”

“Open a wish…” Bede repeated, then suddenly blinked in realization, “Could it mean— _granting_ a wish?”

Hop and Marnie nodded in agreement, “Yeah, that sounds right actually! Then that means Project: Open Dream literally means Project: Grant Wishes!”

“That sounds accurate to what Gloria was rambling about,” Bede commented, still thinking, “If only we knew more details about the project specifically…”

“True,” Marnie shrugged, “but before we consider that, are either of you two going to acknowledge the other things Gloria said? Sure, we know ‘bout the whole ‘scapegoat’ incident—that refers to the Alolan tragedy, where she was blamed for unleashing the Pokérus. But what did she mean about ‘saving the world’?” she lowered her eyes darkly, “And… something about _experiments?_ ”

They both swallowed hard upon hearing Marnie’s ominous reminder.

 _That’s true…_ Bede reasoned, _If experimentation is involved, then this situation could get even uglier. I don’t know anything about saving the world, but has Flanders been conducting experiments to grant wishes? If so, what kind of experiments?_

Suddenly Hop’s face went pale.

They both turned to him, worried he’d discovered something horrible.

“What is it Hop?” Marnie asked carefully, nervous about what he was going to say.

“It’s just… I remembered something from my lab research.”

Hop suddenly strode over to the bookshelves and began looking down the rows of books. His eyes scanned the shelves frantically until they landed on a thick book in the historical section.

“Thank goodness it was here,” he sighed, dropping the heavy book onto the table with a loud thud. The front title read: Unsolved Mysteries and Wonders of the Pokémon World. Then he flipped to the table of contents, scanned the chapter titles, and turned to page 262: The Jirachi’s Twin Phenomenon.

“This is it, I think…” he breathed, scanning the pages hurriedly.

“This is… what?” Bede raised an eyebrow at the page, “What does an old urban legend have to do with Gloria or Project: Open Dream?”

“Well, from what I can recall out of my studies, there is only _one_ Pokémon known for its power to grant wishes, and that’s Jirachi,” he said quickly, flipping the page as he read, “A while ago, I came across this story in my studies. It’s right here—take a look.”

“I still don’t get the point to this, but whatever…” Bede sighed, reading the paragraph Hop was pointing to.

The paragraph started in the middle of the legend.

_…the mother, fearing the health of her sick son, left the village in search of a miracle. Then, on that exact day, a piece of the sky fell to the earth bearing inside of it a golden Pokémon crafted from the stars. With its merciful arms, it extended a single emerald tag, and declared to the woman: “Write whatsoever you wish, and I will see to it. It is my promise that you will find happiness in your desires.”_

_With that message, the woman wrote her desire: for the Pokémon to spare the life of her beloved son, healing him of all illness. And thus it was done, and the next morning the son was healed. Jirachi presented a piece within itself to the boy, curing him of all faults and blemishes, including an added gift from the Pokémon’s heart: the very power of granting wishes._

“It explains below that this historical phenomenon presented the first human in history that could ‘grant wishes’, as the story says—but sadly it’s never been repeated once. They call it ‘Jirachi’s blessing’, if a wish is specifically targeted at an ill child, and the current theory behind it, is that Jirachi uses its own DNA to repair the broken human cells. That’s why the son in the story inherited the wishing powers.”

They both blinked in shock at the pages before looking back up at Hop.

“So then…” Marnie began, “Does that mean—when Gloria called herself a ‘shooting star’…”

“It can’t possibly be…” Bede rubbed his forehead in confusion, but he couldn’t deny it, _No… I remember something now. Back in Hammerlocke, didn’t Gordie say there was a mythical Pokémon present during the whole accident? Could that have been… Jirachi?_

There was no way of knowing for sure, except by asking Gloria. Bede and Hop looked up from the book suddenly, glancing at their coats which were strewn across two different chairs.

“Don’t tell me you two are—” Marnie began, but they were already re-gearing up to go outside.

“Sorry Marnie, but we have to do this,” Hop insisted, tugging his arm through a sleeve, “This mystery can’t wait any longer. We need to solve it while it’s out in the open, and that’s _now._ ”

Bede nodded, slipping on his shoes after re-buttoning his long trench coat.

“Sure,” then he glanced at Hop with a determined glint in his eye, “but _I’m_ going to find her, you understand?”

Taken aback, Hop gritted his teeth as he swallowed an angry response.

“Just shut-up and let’s go!” he half-shouted, then pushed out the doors into the freezing sheets of rain.

* * *

The rain ripped into Gloria’s neck as she trudged through the streets of Motostoke. Despite how much she desired to tell her friends the remainder of her story, she cared more for their safety than anything else. It’s true that she was powerless to stop them from figuring it out anyway, but it was easier on her conscience to know she hadn’t personally told them anything.

After all, she knew what would happen to them if she did.

Her shoes slipped on the slick sidewalk, each step taking every ounce of her energy. She didn’t know where she was walking to, nor did she care. The only thing that mattered to her was figuring out how to stop the raging storm overhead.

“Gloria!”

She stumbled, clutching the railing next to her as she struggled to support her own weight. Feeling a throbbing pressure once again on her heart, she clutched her chest and turned to look over her shoulder.

 _Is it… them?_ she wondered exhaustedly, _Surely they’d come running after hearing about a storm like this. They’d know it was me, after all, who did this…_

Stepping out from around a city corner, dozens of hooded figures suddenly flooded the street, led by a single, tall woman in the front. Upon gaining Gloria’s attention, she stepped forwards, ignoring the rain that speckled the lenses of her glasses.

“I think we both understand what’s supposed to happen from here, Champion.”

Gloria shifted her weight on the rail, desperately trying to regain her strength. When it was of no use, she just scowled at the woman.

“Screw you,” she spat flatly, “I figured you were on your way… I should’ve gotten moving a little sooner.”

“In your condition? Please,” she rolled her eyes, shortening their distance even more with a single step, “Now since we’re already here, how about you make this easy and surrender yourself to us?”

Gloria said nothing.

The woman sighed, continuing with an air of exasperation, “Gloria, you’re unstable right now. If we don’t get you back to the lab soon, you’re going to lose control again—perhaps flood the entire city of Motostoke. This is for your own good.”

“But it…” she heaved, stiffening enough to release the railing.

“Remember what happened last time?”

The rain seemed to pause for a second, as if responding to Gloria’s flutter of horror when she processed the woman’s remark.

“Judging by the look on your face, that memory still haunts you,” she chided, stepping forward again, “I’m not going to remind you what happened then. But at the very least, make this easier on us so we don’t have to waste resources detaining you again.”

A short distance away, just out of view from the scene in the middle of the street, Bede and Hop approached the nearby city corner. Upon reaching it, they squinted ahead, spotting Gloria standing crookedly with her hand over her heart just a few meters away.

“There!” Hop pointed, “Hurry, she’s—”

“Wait!” Bede snatched the collar of Hop’s coat, nearly clotheslining him.

“Ow! Bede, what the he—”

“Shh!” he hushed furiously, jabbing his pointer finger at the surrounding group of cloaked figures, “Take a look before you throw yourself out into the open, you pillock! Don’t you see them!?”

Hop blinked, suddenly noticing the others in the area. Just up ahead, Hop spotted a group of fifteen or fewer figures, all varying in heights, dressed in black/violet-toned cloaks. Just beyond them, standing much closer to Gloria, was a slender woman, perhaps in her thirties. She was wearing a long trench coat that extended just past her knees, and also had the same black and violet colour scheme.

“Who are they?”

“Why should I know?” Bede leered at him from the side, then looked back at the figures, “Judging by their looks though, they aren’t friends—that’s for certain. In fact…” he took another moment to observe their outfits, and noticed a peculiar emblem sported on the cloaks’ right shoulders. It appeared to resemble a moon and a shooting star.

“Oh…” Bede grimaced, swallowing a sudden lump in his throat, “That can’t be good.”

“ _What?_ ” Hop pressed, increasingly anxious.

“Something tells me those folk are from Project: Open Dream.”

Hop’s eyes flashed white at the comment, and he quickly spun to observe the figures more closely.

“The timing…” Bede went on, ruffling a hand through his wet hair, “It’s too perfect. Of course they came—it all makes sense now.”

“ _What_ does!?” Hop shouted, startling Bede, “You keep mumbling things, but you’re not explaining anything! For Arceus’ sake Bede—tell me something!”

“You want to hear my thought process?” he huffed, “Fine, then listen.” Bede pointed up at the clouds overhead, “Gloria said the final puzzle was figuring out where this storm came from, right?”

Hop nodded.

“Then answer it: where did this storm come from?”

“We don’t know that yet—”

“Gloria wouldn’t have told us that clue if she knew we needed her help to answer it,” Bede reminded impatiently, “So if we determine all of your claims earlier as facts, then where does that leave us?”

Hop hesitated, “Claims? You mean what I said about the Jirachi’s Twin Phenomenon?”

Bede nodded.

“Then that would mean…” Hop looked up at the sky, blinking as a water droplet fell near his eye, “Gloria caused this to happen because someone wished for it?”

“That’s what it seems like,” Bede said, turning back to watch the Open Dream members again, “I dunno who would wish for a storm like this, but the point is it’s here, and Open Dream probably noticed. If they’re really connected with Gloria, it makes sense they’d pinpoint her as the one responsible for causing something like this.”

Hop swallowed hard, turning his attention to Open Dream as well, “But then… what do they want, is the question?”

“I don’t know… let’s see if we can get closer.”

As they snuck around the corner, Gloria’s conversation with the woman resumed.

“Gloria, please.” she insisted again, “Don’t make me resort to force. You _know_ what’ll happen if you stay, so why are you hesitating?” when she still said nothing, the woman finally grinded her teeth in frustration, “Ugh! This is why I hate you so much!” she shouted, reaching for a Poké Ball, “Again Gloria, you try to shoulder everything on your own as if it’s your burden, regardless if it actually is or not.”

“Honestly, I think I would’ve liked you more if you were the type to force others to do things _for_ you. It’s this self-sacrificing attitude of yours that pisses me off so much.” she shook her head, “Do you really believe you can stop this storm on your own?”

Gloria grimaced, feeling another pulse of pain on her heart, “It’s not about whether I can do it or not—it’s my responsibility to fix the mistakes I’ve made.”

“Oh shut-up already,” the woman rolled her eyes and tossed out a Zoroark, “Your ideology isn’t worth my time. The bottom line is you’re coming with us.”

Gloria’s silver eyes suddenly flashed up to the woman’s face, sending a chill down her spine. Then, after a slight pause, there was a sudden CRASH as a bolt of light shot down from the sky, striking a nearby lamppost. The sheer volume and brightness of the flash sent everyone reeling backwards, hands over their eyes or ears to shield them from the immense bolt.

In the meantime, Hop and Bede were both covering their ears from the sound of the thunder strike. Luckily, since they were further away, they were able to blink away the speckles of darkness that dotted their vision just in time to see Gloria sprinting down the street away from the members of Project: Open Dream.

“Ugh—that stupid girl!” the woman spat furiously again, turning to her subordinates, “Go! Bring her back before this storm gets any worse! If not, Flanders’ fury will be the least of our worries!”

“Quick—” Bede snatched Hop so that they were both huddled behind the thick column of a building, and waited until Project: Open Dream had passed by.

“Thanks,” Hop managed, moving away from their hiding place once the figures were out of view, “but what do we do now? Things aren’t looking good for Gloria.”

“Let’s go!” Bede shouted, suddenly sprinting from the place they were hiding.

“Augh—wait!” Hop yelled back, rushing to catch up with him, “But Open Dream’s already onto her! There’s no way we can—”

“They might be ahead of us, but I know Gloria better than they do—she’s not gonna let herself get caught. All we have to do is think like her, and we’ll be able to find her first. Now _hurry up!_ ”


	25. Memory Twenty-Four - She is

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frantic to see Gloria under pursuit by Open Dream, Hop and Bede rush to her rescue before she gets captured. Prying her out of a secluded alley, the group of three hurries away from their attackers before discovery, and hides far below Motostoke down at a secluded pier. With the rain slowly calming, Bede and Hop finally ask if Gloria will finish her story, and at last—she obliges.

With rain stippling across their faces like tiny skewers, Bede and Hop shoved onward through the alleys of Motostoke. They watched as members of Project: Open Dream divided and split all across the area, always keeping themselves just out of sight around corners.

“Dang it—I’ve got no clue where Gloria’s gone,” Bede muttered frustratedly, “After that flash, it’s like she just disappeared.”

“It doesn’t help that there’s also Open Dream grunts crawling all over the place,” Hop added, ducking behind the building further to avoid being seen, “Speaking of which, I think we should get out our Pokémon.”

Bede nodded, and the two of them tossed out a pair of Pokémon to help them out. Bede brought out Sylveon, while Hop withdrew Pincurchin. Hop’s perched on his shoulder appropriately.

Squinting between the buildings, Bede searched for any sort of evidence of Gloria’s whereabouts. The streets were still empty along with the alleyways—as if she’d somehow completely vanished.

“Let’s check this direction,” Hop pointed back elsewhere, hoping to put more distance between them and Open Dream, but a sudden yell of surprise halted them in their tracks.

“Here! She’s he—” the yell was followed by a powerful-sounding blast of light, which sent the grunt flying backwards out of an adjourning alley.

“Shoot—she’s right in the center of them,” Bede muttered, cursing under his breath, “Time to get in there and fight, Hop. I sure hope you’re not too rusty.”

Hop scowled at him, and then the two began to sneak over towards the suspicious alleyway. When they reached the entrance, they immediately saw it was a dead end. Gloria stood in the very back, blocked by three other Open Dream members, one of which seemed to be calling for backup.

“Guii—I trust you. Please take them for me!” Gloria pleaded, a hand still firmly massaging the area around her heart, “I don’t know how much time is left, but protect me with everything you’ve got, okay buddy?”

The Pokémon nodded back, then stared down the approaching Mismagius and Musharna.

“Why’s she been massaging her heart like that?” Hop whispered, still crouched around the corner with Bede.

Bede shrugged, “I don’t know—maybe it’s some weird side effect of her power or something,” he then turned to face Hop, “We need to stop the guy on the left before he calls that woman in charge. Can you get Pincurchin in there?”

Hop nodded quickly, then turned to face his partner on his shoulder, “You heard him buddy. Get in there and use Zing Zap on that device—I reckon it’ll be more than enough to kill that electronic.”

After leaping onto the ground, Bede and Hop watched in silence as it made its approach. Slowly but surely, the Pincurchin wriggled its way over towards the grunt on the left.

“Hey, this is Matt. Me and two others have located _the phenomenon_ near the edge of—” but before he could announce his location, the tiny Pincurchin barreled forward at an astonishing speed, sending his now sizzling communicator flying across the pavement.

“Augh! You stupid little—what!?”

Before he could say much else, the man was thrown backwards by a moon-shaped sphere before thudding into the nearby wall and losing consciousness. The two others whipped around furiously in time to see both Bede and Hop aiming attacks at them.

“Sylveon, use Psyshock!”

“And Pincurchin use Bubble Beam!”

Both grunts were too slow to dodge the attacks, and were tossed aside carelessly without a second thought. When their Pokémon realized both trainers were unconscious, they panicked, and were thus defeated by Gloria’s Alcremie within seconds.

Once both opponents were down, Hop and Bede rushed forwards to finally speak to Gloria again.

“You two…” she sighed, leaning against the back wall of the building, “I can’t believe you came back. How on earth did you know—”

“How did we know where you were!?” Hop shouted back, a little too loud from the excitement a moment ago, “We saw you—and Project: Open Dream, they came here—”

“We found you by chance,” Bede finished for him, stepping back a step to give Gloria some space, “It’s a miracle, really. But it’s a shame Open Dream found you first…”

Gloria let out a long huff of air, allowing her hand to finally rest at her side rather than on her chest, “Good… because I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to last like this.”

When she removed her hand, the two boys were startled to see that beneath the fabric of her shirt, there was a yellow, pulsing glow emanating from her chest. They hadn’t noticed it before because she still had her jumper zipped up, but now that it was loose, they could see it for the first time.

“What on earth is—” Hop started, but Gloria shook her head, cutting him off.

“We need to get out of here,” Bede reminded, noticing the dead communicator on the ground, “That guy was calling for backup. Those men will be here soon if we don’t get moving.”

Both Hop and Gloria nodded, and proceeded to dash out of the alleyway. Right upon reaching the exit however, a swarm of around five Open Dream members shielded the exit. Bede cursed angrily again, glancing over at Gloria in fear, but she was too tired to give much of a response.

Then, with a bold look on its face, Guii stepped forwards.

Gloria looked up in surprise, shocked her Pokémon still had plenty of fight left after fighting so much, but she was undaunted.

“Crem!” (Leave it to me!) it shrieked firmly, tapping its fist against its chest, (Go get yourselves to safety—I’ll keep them away for longer, just go!)

With a nod of agreement, Gloria tossed Guii a pair of specs before turning away.

“Sure, but put these on. You can’t last much longer without them.”

After putting them on, Guii gave Gloria a sugary-sweet smile, “Alcre, Alcremie.”

The words made Gloria suddenly flush with embarrassment, as the Alcremie turned its mischievous smile away to face its enemies. Before either Hop or Bede could ask, Gloria rushed to the left and turned out of a back alley instead, the two others at her heels.

“Let’s go!” Gloria yelled.

“But wait—what about Alcremie!?” Hop shouted, “It won’t have any orders to take!”

“She can handle herself! After all professor, weren’t all Pokémon wild before they were our companions?” Gloria reminded plainly before passing down another street corner.

When they were out of the alleys, the three of them continued to weave through the streets of Motostoke until Open Dream was far behind them. Rain slashed across their faces, leaving an occasional cut every now and then, but they had no choice but to keep running. More grunts could still appear at any time—meaning they were still quite vulnerable.

Then Gloria pointed.

“That way—there’s a hidden stairwell to the docks!” she shouted, “I go there often, it’s a pretty secret place. Almost no one else seems to go down the—” but before she could finish, Gloria suddenly stumbled and nearly hit the ground with her knees.

Luckily, the two boys managed to catch her in time, each one of them holding one of her arms.

“Gloria!” they shouted in alarm, before glancing annoyedly at one another from opposite sides.

“Ah…” she huffed, managing to regain her footing, “I’m sorry—I’m running out of steam here. But if we can just make it to the docks…”

“Don’t worry,” Bede insisted, taking her right hand into his own, “We’ll make it.”

He nodded half-begrudgingly to Hop, who’d also taken her left hand.

“Let’s go.”

Past the buildings, through a steel gate left ajar, Gloria guided them over towards a long, winding set of stairs. As they began to descend, their eyes landed upon a manmade river lapping just beneath the overhead bridges. There was a dock just beyond them lying close to the water just a couple of meters away—perfectly isolated from view of Motostoke’s streets.

Tired, they sat down with their backs to a large, metal storage unit, and Gloria let go of their hands to allow her legs to dangle over the edge of the dock. As she stared at the rippling water, her eyes were met with her own reflection.

Then, they all fell silent for a moment—taking this pause to finally catch their breath. As they gasped, they noticed the rain had lessened once again to a small trickle, overwhelming them with a calming sense of relief.

“I think we lost them. For now…” Bede managed.

Gloria nodded. They went silent once again, listening only to their own heartbeats and the splashes of the river.

Eventually, Gloria’s voice broke the still air.

“I think…” she began, hesitating briefly, “now’s the time I finally explain myself.”

She smiled grimly at her reflection, loathing every inch of it until she managed to look away from herself.

“It’s true—I am the one you called ‘Ria’. That was a nickname of mine back then. For a short few months, I was the champion of Alola, until that whole Pokérus incident happened. Since then, my mom and I moved here, hoping to finally be free from all this drama—but I see our efforts were in vain.”

Hop and Bede looked at her silently, choosing only to listen as she willed herself to speak.

“You’re probably tired of not understanding what I mean when I talk about wishes and shooting stars, so let me explain.

“I wasn’t supposed to live as a child. You see… I am what they call, ‘Jirachi’s twin’. A child who was allowed to live only because someone wished for me to. When I was born, I had a heart defect that assured I would only live for three days, at most. I was the third child my parents had lost. Flanders, however, saw an opportunity. He wanted to recreate an old phenomenon—a phenomenon where a child suddenly had the ability to grant people’s wishes because it was blessed by Jirachi. As a result, he lent my mom the Pokémon, and I was saved.

“My body lost all of its flaws. Jirachi used its own DNA to repair any of mine that was damaged. That’s why everything about me—my terrifying, flawless eyes, to even some of my mannerisms, are so scarily perfect. It’s unnerving to people—so much so that I had to create flaws myself.

“A few years after everything, I lost track of my father. My mom said a few times that he died, but for some reason I don’t remember it. Regardless, Flanders forced my mom to take me to his lab as collateral for saving me. They experimented on me—tried to find out how my ability to grant wishes worked, and then amplified it to cause stuff like…” she gestured to the sky.

“This.”

“Unfortunately, his amplifications occasionally cause me to lose control of my ability, and sometimes I grant wishes without meaning to; and when that happens…”

She stopped. Her eyes trembled for a moment, and then finally she went on.

“If I grant a wish, but then lose my desire to grant that wish, then the wish turns into a curse and comes true in the worst way possible.

“Someone in Alola wanted their Pokémon to become strong, so I somehow created the Pokérus as a result. When that kid started abusing his Pokémon, obsessing over the virus and winning battles, I ruined the wish and turned it into a curse that made Pokémon grow too fast—causing lots of suffering and death region-wide. It wasn’t intentional—I can’t choose the results of the wish, or the curse. All that happens, is the wish comes true.

“In fact, that’s one of the reasons why I accidentally became champion,” she then turned to Hop.

“You see, I wanted to make your wish come true, Hop. To do that, I trained so hard that I could defeat any rival blocking your path. However… I ended up defeating you in the process. In my desire to become strong for you, the wish changed to a curse that blocked your chances of becoming champion. It wasn’t supposed to happen that way, but in the end I didn’t have a choice. that’s just how it works.

“And also…” suddenly her eyes flickered. She wrapped her arms around her knees and for a moment, there was nothing but eerie silence. Then, with a pale, guilty face, she turned to face Bede.

“Do you remember what you said Bede? That morning after we…” her voice trailed off, causing Bede’s face to redden with the implication.

Hop raised an eyebrow at him, but he just stuttered out a disgruntled: “Wh-what?”

“It was the morning Opal fell.”

The embarrassment faded away, replaced instantly with a painful wave of remembrance.

“You wished that something, _anything_ could be done. Remember? But you see—I got scared. I worried if I tried to make the wish come true, it would turn out wrong, so I just pleaded: ‘ _please_ don’t do anything, don’t grant the wish!’ and later that evening, she…” her voice broke off, tears suddenly streaming down her face. She buried her face in her hands, guilt seizing her instantly as she spilled out her confession.

“It’s my f-fault she’s…” she swallowed harshly, “And Opal even knew—she talked to me about it just before she d-died. She told me so much—that I shouldn’t blame myself, but I—” her head shook miserably.

“It’s all my fault.”

In the following pause, Bede felt an uncomfortable lump forming in the back of his throat. Deep down, he felt like he’d somehow known, but it was no easier to accept.

Regardless, Gloria went on.

“Even this storm,” she managed, “I heard someone’s passing small talk, and in that conversation they mentioned they wished it would rain more. Distinctly, in my mind, I screamed that I didn’t want to grant anymore wishes—but of course, _something_ had to happen to sustain the status quo. All the fear, anger, and agony I felt in that moment conglomerated itself into this massive storm that I have no control over.”

She rested her hand back across her heart, revealing the faint yellow glow that remained there.

“Even now, the wish is still happening. You can tell by how much my heart is glowing…”

Gloria shook her head miserably, “Anyway… that’s as much as you need to know, honestly. I have more examples, but I don’t feel like telling them to you right now.”

For the next few minutes, Bede and Hop sat silently next to Gloria, just listening to her cry. Minutes passed with just the slow trickle of rainfall, until eventually even _that_ began to fade away. True silence, once again, returned to the city of Motostoke.

Interrupting that moment, Bede spoke up.

“I’m glad you were able to tell us everything—even if it was hard for you.”

Hop nodded, still mulling over what Gloria had told them.

She looked up, surprised, then stared down at her hands, “You know… the reason I was so offended—back when we spoke in the library, was because I was worried you wouldn’t trust me anymore after knowing the whole truth,” she began shakily, “However… you two still somehow found it in yourselves to trust me.”

She sighed, staring at the water below again. Then, with a small huff of a laugh, she shook her head and wiped the tears away from the corners of her eyes. A smile crept onto her face, and at last the clouds overhead opened up to reveal beams of light from the distantly setting sun.

“I’m so glad I fell in love with you two.”

Their faces lit up with flushed embarrassment, making her grin even wider.

“I hate to choose between you two boys…” she sighed, “but I know there’s _one_ of you that I’ll end up liking more in the end. I guess you could call this the last mystery—only this one’s for _me_ to solve.”

Hop sighed, a smile springing onto his face, “Well, you can leave the clue parts to us. I promise I’m not going to give up to this guy—you have my word!”

Bede rolled his eyes, “Right, Hop. Somehow I doubt your confidence.” he was of course referring to the date he and Gloria spent together in Stow-on-Side.

Gloria stood up, sighing as the clouds slowly crawled away from the darkening evening sky.

“By the way, it seems I’ve gotten my ability under control now, thanks to you two.”

“So I noticed,” Bede marveled up at the clouds for a moment, admiring the way the sun shone across them.

“This means we don’t have to hide anymore. After all, Open Dream only wanted me so they could get me under control. Now they’ve got no reason to capture me, I think.”

Hop smiled faintly, “That’s a relief. Not saying I’m completely letting my guard down, but at least they won’t chase us anymore.”

Gloria nodded, “Absolutely. Anyway, I think it’s time I go back. I’m grateful to you two for helping me escape, but I’ll end up facing the members of Open Dream regardless of what happens. After all… they’ve got my Pokémon at the moment.”

Bede sighed, standing up as well, “I suppose… but please be careful. I don’t know anything about what they intended to do to you, but it didn’t seem pleasant.”

With a sad smile, Gloria managed a faint nod—though it provided little comfort to either of their restless minds, “The wish is over, I can feel it. In extreme scenarios like this, my heart pulses so hard it feels like it’s on fire—and it starts glowing, too. Weird, I know… but the light’s gone, so don’t worry about it.

“Now let’s get moving, you two.”

True to her word, Gloria, Bede, and Hop walked silently back to the direction of Motostoke library. When they rounded the corner to exit the side street they were on, their eyes were met with the leader of the group.

At first, the members pointed and shouted out Gloria’s presence, but the woman in charge held up a hand to silence them. Thoroughly trounced at her feet, was Gloria’s Alcremie—who immediately shrieked at the sight of her trainer.

“CREM!” (NO! Are you crazy!? Stay back! They’re—)

“I noticed the rain stopped,” the leader interrupted, striding passed Gloria’s Pokémon to speak directly to her instead.

“I told you this was something I had to do, and I’ve done it. I’m sorry for the trouble,” Gloria managed, bowing slightly in feigned respect.

The woman said nothing as she returned her nearby Zoroark to its Poké Ball.

“You realize what this would’ve meant if you _hadn’t_ regained your senses. Right?” she finally continued, a threatening glare in the corner of her gaze.

Gloria didn’t respond.

“This was some curse. I’d be stunned if there wasn’t a news report questioning how this happened. If any of this gets linked back to you, Gloria—”

“I already know what’s waiting for me.” she smiled grimly, “Let me be, ma’am.”

The woman thought for a moment in consideration before nodding once in agreement; and after a short exchange of words with the other group members, Open Dream dispersed.

“One last thing,” she turned back to Gloria, “I’m going to report this incident to Flanders. Tell him you successfully disabled a curse. It is your first success, correct?” she then glanced at Hop and Bede, “And by the way… what of those two? Any… reports?”

Gloria’s face reddened a tiny bit before glaring annoyedly at the woman, “That’s none of your business.”

She rolled her eyes, “Hmph. It’s more ‘my business’ than you might think, Gloria.”

With that response, the woman disappeared around a corner, and a peaceful quiet finally returned to the area—relieving the tension off of their shoulders.

“What was she talking about us for?” Bede asked after the mood returned to normal.

Gloria, too sheepish to answer, just shook her head, “It doesn’t matter.”

Then, with a single stride, Gloria kneeled down to collect her precious Alcremie back into her arms, and managed it a kind, proud smile.

“You did amazing today, Guii. I’m so proud of you.”

“Cre… em?” (Even though I still lost to them in the end?”

“You didn’t lose, sweetie. You did what you could do—and in the end, you saved me. That’s all that matters.”

Relieved, the Pokémon let its head loll back into her trainer’s arms, (I’m glad.)

Then, after retrieving the cracked specs from Guii’s face, Gloria returned Alcremie to its Poké Ball.

“I’ve been meaning to ask what the glasses were for,” Hop spoke up, noticing the cracked, broken frames in her hand.

“Oh—they’re just a special item called ‘wise glasses’. They’re made to help Pokémon with their special attack aim, but it looks like I’ll have to buy a new pair…”

Shoving the glasses into her bag, Gloria finally stood back up.

“I’m going home,” she said suddenly, “I’m very grateful to you two—feel free to tell Marnie everything as well, if you want. Just…” she sighed, letting her eyelashes flutter heavily as the previous encounter with Open Dream weighed further on her mind, “Promise that… even though I lied about who I am, I still want to spend time with you two. I haven’t changed my mind—I’m going to make a decision soon, you’ll see.”

Her face reddened as she mumbled this before she straightened up to view them boldly in the eyes.

“Anyway, I’ll see you two tomorrow. Perhaps we can meet up again sometime this week—individually.”

Hop and Bede both smiled at her, but then caught each other’s gazes, and glared competitively in each other’s direction.

“I’m not losing to you this time!” Hop stated fiercely, “I might’ve lost in everything else, but I can say with certainty that I’m going to win! After all, your personality’s such a drag, you might as well leave while you’re ahead!”

Bede scowled, “Oh, shut-up! Like you know anything about her anyway,” to himself, he added, _Plus, I somehow doubt ghosting Gloria for two years was good for your reputation, Hop._

Annoyed, Gloria flicked the two of them in the forehead, “That’s enough! It’s almost dark. You two need to go home too!”

Bede sighed, but then nodded in agreement.

“Right… I’ve got to start making preparations for remodeling the gym. After all, Opal’s design aesthetic is a bit too outdated for my tastes…”

Bede turned away towards the direction of the train station.

“Tell Marnie the details for me—would you Hop?”

Hop nodded, “Sure. Lump it on me, go ahead.”

Bede rolled his eyes and waved goodbye to Gloria, “I’ll see you at the station. I’m heading over earlier to dry off my hair—I can’t stand it this messy…”

Laughing at his remark, she waved back, making him smile bashfully as turned down the street and disappeared from view. In the meantime, Hop and Gloria remained alone in the middle of the empty street as the sun continued to set. Overhead, seas of clouds that had been squeezed dry of rain, were floating softly up in the tall sky, and a cold, rain-scented breeze passed under their noses.

Hop shivered, stuffing his frigid hands into his pockets. Until now, he had never had a chance to realize just how frigid the air was because his veins were so pumped with adrenaline. Now that the panic had subsided, he was left at the mercy of the bone-chilling post-storm winds. To his right, Gloria was also shivering. Her jumper was drenched in water to the point where ringing it out would be nearly useless. Even worse, the skirt she wore did little to protect her legs from the cold air that embraced them.

“Are you cold?” Hop asked, glancing away from her trembling knees, worried his gaze was too intrusive.

She laughed lightly, “A bit, yeah…”

Hop tucked his hands into his pockets, wondering how he could help her. A quick realization hit him, and he whisked out a pair of hand warmers from his pockets.

“Here,” he offered, smiling generously at her, “I think you need these more than I do.”

Gloria blinked, a little surprised. Then she shook her head, “No—you’re cold too… I can’t take these from you.”

“They’ll go to waste otherwise,” Hop replied honestly, “My hands are always warm.”

He remembered back to the moment where the three of them were running through the rain. Though he wasn’t paying much attention at the time, he could remember how freezing they were to touch—and small, too.

Gloria thought for a moment, but shook her head again, “Even so…”

“Fine. Then I suppose I’ll just put them away—”

“Well wait—you don’t have to!”

Flustered and a little annoyed, Gloria took the hand warmers out of his hands and rubbed them. Surprised by their warmth, an expression of pure contentment leaked across her face before she could stop it. Then she blinked, and shook her head guiltily.

“I feel so bad… if only we had two more.”

Hop shrugged, “It’s fine. The station isn’t that far anyway.”

“That’s true.”

She grinned at him, making him blush a bit. Seeing her carefree face again filled him with so much relief after all of the crazy events that had just transpired. As a result, he couldn’t help but smile back as they made their way to the station. Neither of them said much at first. Hop simply walked with his hands buried deep in his pockets, Gloria with her hands firmly rubbing the hand warmers. As she used them however, she couldn’t help but continue to feel a little guilty.

Hop and Bede had just done so much to help her escape Open Dream, and she hadn’t been able to give them anything in return. In that moment, a wave of regret seized her as she realized she had been shamelessly stealing their charity. She looked at Hop’s frigid hands, which were hidden from view in his pockets.

“Hold out your hand,” she said suddenly.

Hop glanced at her curiously at first. When she didn’t continue to speak, he shrugged and held out his right hand. Instantly, she placed a hand warmer into it—surprising Hop so much, he almost withdrew his hand again. However, before he could retrieve his hand, Gloria interlaced her fingers delicately between Hop’s, closing the hand warmer in the middle.

“If we share it, we can both have a bit of warmth,” Gloria stammered, her face pink from both the cold, and the embarrassment of grasping Hop’s hand.

“True…” he mumbled, placing the back of his other hand over his mouth in defeat.

From there, the two continued to walk to the station. They had just barely began enjoying the sunset, however, when Marnie suddenly appeared out of the library.

“Oi—there you two goons are!” she shouted, rushing over to greet them.

It didn’t take long for her to notice they were holding hands.

“Ohhh I suppose I should’ve shown up sooner. The moment I’m not in view, you two _have_ to go ‘n spice things up eh?” she teased.

“Sh-shut-up!” Hop stammered angrily, though he didn’t have the willpower to untangle his hand.

Marnie just cackled wholeheartedly, making Gloria sigh in embarrassment.

“Oh it’s fine. I’m jus’ messin’ with you two. And hey—I ship it more than _Bede…_ ” she rolled her eyes, and then noticed Gloria’s other hand warmer.

“Mind if I third wheel?” she added.

Gloria laughed—nervous, but also in good humor, “Oh sure, I suppose.”

They ended up walking back to the station as a group of three, making Gloria feel like a small child being stuck in-between her two friends. As they walked with each other, Gloria and Hop relayed to Marnie what had happened. She was surprisingly calm about the whole thing, though she advised them not to let this news go viral. She worried that publicity could damage Gloria’s reputation if not revealed carefully.

When they reached the station, Hop took a seat so he could wait for his train to appear.

“Since I’m going back to Postwick, I reckon you two need to board the _current_ train—before it takes off.”

Marnie and Gloria nodded, turning their heads towards the train cars. A short distance down, they found the back of Bede’s fluffy head.

“Looks like he’s fixed his hair. It does look a lot better now that it’s not wild everywhere,” Gloria laughed.

Just before boarding the train, Gloria tossed Hop back his hand warmers.

“Thanks for letting me use them—even if it was only for a bit!” she shouted to him, waving as she neared the cabin entrance.

“Sure!” he responded, slipping the hand warmers into his pockets.

As Marnie stepped into the train, Gloria followed behind her. Just before she was inside, however, a few words slipped out of Hop’s mouth before he could stop them.

“I love you.”

She stopped. His voice shot into her eardrums and fluttered around her heart. The realization of what Hop said hit her, turning her heartbeat into a bombardment of fireworks. She spun, her eyes glimmering and sparkling with twitterpation as she searched for his face. When she found it, she discovered he was even more shocked than she was. His golden eyes were so wide, she could see the reflection of the station lights in his eyes perfectly. She could even see the flushness of his face, despite his dark skin.

She smiled—a grandiose, overwhelmed, wonder-filled smile that Hop had never seen her make before. He blinked, capturing that smile in his memory before it disappeared onto the train. When she was finally gone, the realization hit him.

 _I want to make her smile like that again. I want to be the_ only _one who can make her smile like that._

He placed a hand over his heart to make sure he hadn’t died from happiness.

 _I get it now,_ he realized, closing his eyes, _I really do love her, after all._


	26. Memory Twenty-Five - Two Choices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still dizzy from the impact of Hop's departing words, Gloria giddily enters the train with Marnie and Bede in front of her. Before she can do much however, Marnie pulls her aside and sits her down to talk about Gloria's predicament—reasonably concerned for the well-being of both Hop and Bede, should they be rejected. Bede overhears and steps in to portray his thoughts.

Gloria and Marnie started making their way over to where Bede was sitting. Just before they could enter the bench, however, Marnie suddenly pulled Gloria off to the side and sat her down in a separate booth.

“Marnie? What’re you—”

“Listen for a moment.”

Gloria went silent. Marnie’s expression was not grave, nor did it seem upset. Rather, she appeared unsettled about something, and clearly needed to talk about it.

“I just want to ask…” she sighed, looking down, “Have you chosen between Hop and Bede yet?”

Gloria’s cheeks flushed momentarily before she cast her gaze downward, _So this is what she wanted to talk about…_

“I haven’t.”

“Then please make up your mind soon. I feel like you’re gettin’ to the point where both boys would be crushed beyond repair if you rejected either of them.”

Gloria sighed, her gaze on her shoes unmoving.

“It’s not fair to either of them when you keep goin’ back and forth, telling them _both_ that you like them,” Marnie went on, “Hop just told you he loves you—that’s a _big_ deal, Gloria. Now, after hearing that, would you say that you’ve picked Hop?”

Gloria hesitated. She thought carefully about what Marnie said, but for some reason she couldn’t give a definite response.

“Hop is important to me,” she agreed, “But even though those words made me happy, I couldn’t bring myself to say the same back to him…” her eyelashes fluttered, “I’m still so conflicted…”

Suddenly, two benches in front of them, Gloria saw Bede shoot up from his seat. Zealously, he marched over to where Marnie and Gloria were chatting, and looked both girls dead in the eyes.

“Geez… if you’re gonna talk about me, at least _try_ to be discrete…” Bede complained.

Gloria said nothing, but Marnie just shook her head. Bede stared at Gloria’s face for a moment. In all the years he’d known her, Bede reckoned he’d never understood her feelings as well as he did now. There was a glossiness in her eyes that hinted at tears, and an uncertain bowing at the tips of her eyebrows. He could tell how much it was eating away at her to prolong their love triangle—what with both sides deeply enamored by her, and he couldn’t even begin to imagine how painful it would be for her to let one of them down.

He turned to the side, looking down the nearly empty isle of seats. Staring at nothing, he came up with a decision—the only decision, he realized, that could finally end this everlasting drama for good.

 _As long as Gloria is happy,_ Bede concluded, _I can live without any regrets. Whether that be by her side, or watching her from a distance._

An image crossed his mind briefly of Gloria and Hop standing beneath a tree, fingers interlaced and a soft breeze rustling the hem of her dress. Their eyes fell upon one another, crossing each other’s lips, before leaning into a tender kiss—one of which he would’ve long lost the sensation of. The scene overwhelmed him with a gnawing bitterness, but as he pushed the thought away, he heavily accepted the reality in mind.

“Gloria, personally… I think it would be wise if you scheduled a date with Hop sometime soon—this week, even.”

She looked up, surprised to hear those words come out of his mouth.

“Don’t get me wrong… I hate seeing the two of you together,” he admitted, “but it’s more important to me that you make the right choice. I feel that if you were to pick up where you left off today—with him telling you he loves you and all, you will finally be able to see him for who he is. In other words, you’ll have everything you need to make your decision.”

Gloria’s eyes bore into Bede’s face. He could feel them against his turned cheek as he stood there, frowning selfishly to himself as he realized he might’ve just thrown her away for good.

“I want you to be happy,” he continued, shaking his head as he spoke, “But you’ll get no happiness out of destroying one of us. At this rate, it’s almost wiser to pick neither of us out of compassion. However… you don’t want that, I can tell.”

Tears formed in Gloria’s eyes, making Bede bite the inside of his cheek.

 _I’ve ruined it…_ he thought miserably, _I’ve gone and made her cry._

Suddenly there was a jolt, and it occurred to them that the train had made it to Hammerlocke. It was time for Bede and Marnie to step off.

Gloria smiled sadly to Bede, reminding him of that snowy night those few weeks ago. Her eyes, swimming with tears and glistening grey in the light, reflected back his own discomfort as he watched them.

“That’s one of the noblest things you’ve ever said to me Bede,” she whispered.

But Marnie wouldn’t have it.

She stood up furiously, frustration seeping from the edges of her words, “Send her on a date with Hop!? Bede—you’re surely mad!”

He turned away from Marnie and stuffed his hands into his pockets, “Didn’t you just say she needed to make a decision soon? Is this not a solid way to finally do that?”

Marnie stared at him dumbfoundedly, moving her lips nonsensically as she tried to form a comeback.

“But you can’t just…” she stammered, “That’s not how you…” she clenched her fists, staring bitterly down at the floor, “You don’t respect your own life enough, Bede. You’re not bein’ selfish enough… are you really okay with this?”

Bede scoffed, a defeated smile ebbing onto his face, “Of course I’m not okay with it. If I’m being honest, I’m just tired of being led on.”

Gloria nodded painfully with his statement.

“I want this to be fair to both of us, so if she’s going to pick Hop, I’d rather her do it now, while my heart is still on the table. It’ll be impossible to get back up if I completely fall in love with her and get turned down.”

Marnie shook her head miserably, “You’re too honest sometimes, you scumbag.”

Bede nodded, “I know.”

With a slight gesture of his head, Marnie left the bench to accompany Bede off the train. Before they walked away, he turned slightly towards Gloria again and left her with a few more words.

“Hearing what Hop said to you though… it’s unfair to just leave things here.” he smiled sadly at Gloria, realizing this might be his last tender moment with her for a long time.

“So… I love you too Gloria.”

She closed her eyes, savoring his words. Then, when the two of them were out of sight, she leaned back against the wall and let her sullen eyes fall onto the ceiling.

“You too.”

Marnie and Bede stepped off the train in silence. As they started to make their way out of the station, Marnie was the first to speak.

“Ya’ know… I suppose I haven’t given you enough credit.”

He glanced at her, wondering what she meant.

“I mean… you’re not the same, selfish brat a’ knew you as.”

His eyes lowered annoyedly at her, “Thanks…?”

She shook her head, “It’s jus’… you realize ya’ just threw away the girl of your dreams, right? I mean—a date with Hop can only mean one o’ two things. Either she falls n’ love with Hop and you lose, or the latter (which I think is far less likely): she realizes on their date that she actually likes you instead.”

Bede shrugged.

“That’s all I get from you? A shrug?”

“It’s her choice, Marnie.”

“But you’re not goin’ to fight?”

“This isn’t a competition where you’re supposed to fight.”

“I disagree…”

They went silent again.

“It’s just…” Marnie went on, “It makes me mad how high-and-mighty you are nowadays. It’s as if you think you’re some sort of saint now tha’ Opal’s gotten you straightened out. It’s not normal for you, I—”

He glanced at her, an eyebrow raised. He was a little taken aback when he found her face a tiny bit flushed. It seemed as though rambling about him made her embarrassed.

“Geez!” she finally yelled, bending over towards the ground, fists clenched at her sides.

“‘Geez’ what?”

“I’m so mad at you! I—” she closed her eyes angrily, “I just can’t believe after all I’ve done for you two, you’re just gonna walk away.”

Bede glanced at her curiously, _All that you’ve done for us?_

“It’s not fair…” she went on, shaking her head, “there was a time, when… when I saw you as more than just a friend—but as soon as I realized she was into you, I started doin’ everything I could to set you guys up! But now…” she sighed, “She might pick… Hop.”

He raised an eyebrow at first, then suddenly realized what her behavior was about. Her flushed cheeks and the way she acted so offended about him not putting up a fight—it made sense.

“So wait… you used to have a crush on me? Did I hear that right?” Bede pressed, a sadistic grin stretching across his face.

She jumped, her face pink, and her eyebrows knitted in anger, “NO! I hated you—I think!? You confuse me!”

He laughed, “I get it, I get it. You’re like a tsundere—is that what they call it?”

She glared at him.

“The answer’s no, by the way.”

The coldness of his answer suddenly made Marnie go stiff. Then, as if accepting her fate, she let her shoulders slump.

“Ah… I see.” _I shouldn’t have bothered._

“You’ve always been a friend to me, I think,” he went on, “Although sometimes it was hard to tell if you were even _that._ ”

Marnie looked away bashfully, “I suppose it was difficult for me to tell sometimes, too.”

“However even if I get rejected, I’m afraid I could never picture the two of us together—if that’s what you were trying to ask. You’re just… too moody for my taste.”

She punched him in the shoulder, making Bede both laugh and cringe at the same time.

Then she sighed, and went on, “Well, all of this is besides the point… you’d better be ready to have your heart dashed to pieces. Those two seem pretty set to me.”

Bede blinked slowly, a painful surge of regret stinging at his heart upon hearing her words.

“Right…” he responded dully.

The two nodded to each other cordially, then finally waved goodbye.

“Haa…” he sighed deeply, Marnie’s words repeating through his head like an ominous premonition.

 _I don’t want to lose Gloria, but if I had acted selfishly on the train, I think it would’ve only postponed my heartbreak,_ he decided miserably, _But if that’s the case… did I really not have a chance? I haven’t technically lost yet, either, but…_

He wasn’t sure. The only thing he knew was he was afraid to lose to Hop. He turned swiftly on his heel, slipping his hands into the pockets of his trench coat as he started to make his way home. A breeze blew by, and he suddenly sniffed—a cold teardrop skewing his vision. He flicked it away hastily, blaming it on the cold, but within moments found it replaced by yet another one. The entire way back, he fought with himself—increasingly unsure if they were really from the cold, or from the slowly rising sting in pit of his gut.

When the door was in sight, he thrust it open immediately and locked it behind him. A warmth overwhelmed his senses, reviving the red tip of his numb nose and his shivering shoulders.

But the longer he stood silently in his entryway, the longer he realized his tears were not from the cold. The low pulsing in his gut had spread to his esophagus, making him swallow repeatedly in vain attempts to barricade his pain from his leaking eyes. The sadness made itself clear, weakening his knees and slumping his shoulders, drifting his eyelids closed to send a cold gloss across his entire vision.

Then, finally defeated, his eyes squeezed shut and he slid down the polished wood of the door, hitting his tailbone on the cold wooden blanks beneath him. He placed the back of his left hand onto his forehead wearily, and lolled back his head so it rested against the door.

_So it wasn’t the cold then._

The realization of this parted his lips, and sent out a gut-wrenched gasp of air—the first sound he made before tears finally began to roll down the curves of his frozen cheeks. His heartbeat hammered in pain.

 _I see how it is,_ he accepted, letting his head sink in-between his knees; arms cradled around himself like a lost child, _Heartbreak sucks._

* * *

When Gloria had finally made it back to her hotel, the sun had disappeared under the horizon. Her room was dark, but she wasn’t interested in going to bed yet.

_“It would be wise if you scheduled a date with Hop within the next few days.”_

Gloria took in a deep breath and dialed Hop’s number. Though it was late, it didn’t take long for him to pick up the phone. By the sound of it, he was still on the train to Postwick.

“Hey Gloria!” Hop responded cheerfully, “What’s up?”

She smiled, the sound of his voice soothing her nerves, “Not much. I was just wondering…” she hesitated, trying to figure out how to form what she was going to say, “Can we—g-go out sometime this week?”

There was a pause, likely for Hop to process what she said, “Wow! U-um that’s _forward,_ ” he replied, laughing embarrassedly, “I mean—you’re not worried it’s too soon?”

“I think I need to make my choice,” she responded honestly, “I’m worried about leading you two on. After all… the longer I wait, the more it’ll hurt in the end.”

“Oh… I see,” Hop replied understandingly, “Well… let’s decide on a time then.”

“How about the day after tomorrow? We can go dine out or do something fancy. After all, the last one was rather casual, right?”

“Ah! That’s right…” he laughed nervously, “Guess I’ll have to find me a nice outfit then.”

Gloria grinned, “Me too. Let’s go to the Captain’s Table in Hulbury. That place is pretty nice, wouldn’t you say?”

Hop agreed heartily, “Sure! I like the sound of that!”

Relieved to come to a decision, Gloria ended the conversation cheerfully, and hung up a few minutes later.

Tired, she leaned back, flopping onto her mattress. Her eyes floated up to the ceiling, tracing the patterns she found in the clay-splatter aesthetic.

 _Bede or Hop…_ she wondered, _Which one?_

She sat up, thinking seriously about it for a moment.

 _Hop is kind and funny. He’s like having a good friend around wherever I go. We’ve had our disagreements before, but ever since we’ve come back together like this, he’s been so… gentle._ she paused, _Well—after the he had his fight with Bede, that is._

Her mind floated to Bede’s face again, _And then there’s that dummy. We used to hate each other. We’d bicker and fight like there was no tomorrow—but then he changed. He’s a little selfish sometimes, but he can be really endearing and thoughtful when he wants to be. That and his hair is so… fluffy._

Gloria grinned at the idea of fondling his hair. When she realized she was subconsciously squishing a pillow with her hands, she threw it across the room in surprise. Then she slapped her cheeks twice.

_You’re going on a date with Hop! Start thinking about him more seriously!_

Hop’s words came to her: _“I love you.”_ and after his, Bede’s: _“I love you too.”_

Her face went red again.

_Not fair! How could you both say that to me with such sweet faces—in the same day, no less!? You two make things so difficult! Ugh!_

She continued to toss and turn on her mattress for the next hour as her mind recalled all the best moments she’d shared between Bede and Hop. Eventually, she fell asleep—both of their endearing gazes staring into her mind as she did so.

_If only I hadn’t met one of you… then this would be so much easier._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *If you're at all curious about Marnie's point of view dealing with her unrequited feelings, read Jirachi's Twin Bonus Stories, "VALENTINE'S DAY SPECIAL | Just a Little Longer". It's sad, but worth it I think.


	27. Memory Twenty-Six - Acting Formally (PREVIEW)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gloria and Hop finally go on an official date.

“Hey, Hop!” Hop spun around at the sound of his name.

Gloria was standing before him in the most gorgeous dress he had ever seen her wear. It was a beautiful, rosy-pink evening gown with a cascade of ruffles flowing down one side, and a gorgeous silver brooch was placed just above her chest to hold a sheer shawl across her exposed shoulders. Her hair was in a Kalosian braid along one side, and her silver eyes popped in contrast to her dark mascara and pink dusting of eyeshadow. When he glanced at her lips, he almost fell into a daze. She was wearing lipstick that matched her dress—a light, almost unnoticeable coral colour, that added personality to her face without changing the natural beauty she already had.

Just staring at her felt like a heavenly dream. He subconsciously sucked in a breath out of awe, and had to cough to try and cover it up.

“Wow!” he managed, laughing, “You really put a lot of work into your outfit…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates next Monday~ <('- '^)


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